


Above ground

by dustyfanfics



Category: Undertale, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-15
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-01 18:28:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 110,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5216162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dustyfanfics/pseuds/dustyfanfics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You were not what Sans had expected, but what was needed.<br/>You were not the original plan, but the eventual solution. A happy mistake. A piece of hope. A chance for forgiveness. A new start.<br/>You fell headfirst into darkness, and created light. </p><p>---</p><p>Post-pacific ending, reader is not Frisk. Reader has no gender, please let me know if I mess that up anywhere in the fanfic! No Nsfw, only suggested.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Home

The first week back on earth had been a straight up mess. 

 

When the first stroke of a cold breeze hit your skin along with the smell of pine and wet grass; you fully realised that you were out of the mountain.

Your phone reconnected to the surface net and bombarded you with messages, leaving you with the realisation that simply breaking the barrier and re-surfacing, was only a quarter of the work that had to be done to fully integrate into society again. It was unnerving to say the least. 

Rather than dealing with the large amounts of ‘are you okay??’ and ‘rest in piece’ messages, you went straight to your parents place with Toriel, Sans and Alphys in tow. Your remaining friends stayed at the top of the mountain, waiting for your call. 

It was late in the evening when you knocked on their door and your breath got caught in your throat upon seeing your mother. Your mother glanced at you for a second, shrieked and slammed the door in your face, only to immediately open it again with tears streaming down her face.

Your father came running up from behind her asking what was wrong, only to stop mid-sentence and looking horrified. He heaved in a breath and pulled you in, one hand on the back of your head. They barely reacted to your friends. 

With shaking hands your mother prepared coffee and tea while your father situated you in the living room. You clumsily you tried to explain your story. The fact that your friends were monsters, seemed the least of your parents worries - they would accept any explanation to your disappearance as long as it ended up with you being okay and alive. When it came to explaining the science and history of the underground, Toriel and Alphys took over and finished the rest of the story for you. Sans merely observed, cradling the mug of coffee in his hands and giving delighted hums whenever he took a sip. Your parents asked very few questions and mostly gasped or frowned whenever you hinted to any battles or struggles - thus you mostly focused on the good parts, such as cooking with Undyne and Papyrus.

In return you asked what had happened while you were gone and your father quickly briefed you, that they had reported the incident two days after your disappearance. They had searched for about a month until it was called off and the police concluded your premature death. Your parents had refused to believe this and therefore they never planned a funeral, and would deny to do so until at least the body was found. You could tell the relief on their faces as they realised they didn't have to pick out a grave for you after all. 

“That would’ve been grave,” Sans added. Your mother looked like she could’ve killed him.

 

It was way past dinner time when your mother offered for you to stay and have something to eat. You wanted to, you really did, but you explained that you had to get back to the others from the underground, that were still waiting for your call, alas she shook her head, “no, just bring them here, I don’t care, we'll make room for the evening.” You smiled and nodded. 

Papyrus and Undyne were happy to join and were already talking excitedly over the phone about getting to see the inside of a human home. The rest preferred to stay back at the mountain, and a good chunk had to anyhow as there simply wasn’t room for an entire civilisation in your parent's living room, and Asgore offered to remain with them. Sans blinked in and out of existence to pick them up halfway, and you were thankful it was this close to midnight thus the streets of your suburban neighbourhood were practically empty for your friends to walk on. 

Papyrus charmed your parents instantly. His rambunctious attitude and genuine joy towards seeing them put them at ease. It was a relief for them to know, that someone as joyful as him had been with you. Undyne was strangely awkward as she walked with her back as straight as possible and kept her hands by her sides. “I want to impress your parents!!” she explained to you, her eyes darting left and right, occasionally smacking Papyrus’ hands when he was about to touch something fragile. You sat by two tables in total, most of you by the large mahogany table in the dining room, and a few by the small table in front of the tv in the living room. Rather than your mother having to cook for so many she brought out some bread and toppings as a cold evening snack. 

This wasn’t how you expected your first day back above ground to go, but somehow you were now sleeping on a spare mattress on the ground, squeezed in between Toriel and Sans and with the rest of your friends spread out across the living room on couches and sleeping bags and covered in duvet and blankets. This was a pretty successful return to the human world, you told yourself, letting out a deep relieved sigh. Toriel whispered, not wanting to wake the others, “Is it good to be back?”

“It’s… I don’t think I’ve fully registered it…” you chuckled, “it kinda feels like I’m walking through a hazy dream.” 

Sans hummed, “don’t worry, we’ll keep you grounded.” You snorted as he continued, “in all seriousness tho’, you will know you’re back the moment you get settled back into your life again.” Was that a hint of regret in his voice?

“True enough…” you replied, “what about you? How does it feel it to actually be up here?” 

“Everything looks so different and yet the same,” Toriel replied, “but I have to admit that I have yet to fully register our move as well.” 

“Same,” Sans added, his eyes lit his face up just enough for you to see that he was nodding, “I’m glad your parents took so well to tho’”

“Oh boy... my father's face when he saw you - had it been any other situation, I would’ve laughed” you chuckled.

“Considering your disappearance, they looked like they would have accepted any explanation.”

“Definitely. But it could have gone south real quick.” You turned your head to Toriel but saw that she was already sleeping and instead turned back to Sans, “time to sleep?”

“My favourite past time. G’night,” he grinned.

“Night” you hummed.    
  
  


The following morning you stacked away the mattresses and duvets in a corner of the living room. Your mother carried in trays of bacon, eggs and toast and let a hand pass over your shoulder whenever she passed you. 

“Ma’am you MUST teach me how to cook this!!” Papyrus exclaimed, his mouth stuffed and words muffled. Your mother seemed quite perplexed, “…I’d love to,” she ended up answering, a shy smile on her face.

Putting down your empty glass you asked your mother; “Mother, is my apartment still-?” She nodded, “yes, we kept it. We talked to your landlord and let the payment go through our account instead of yours, we didn’t- couldn’t clear it out just yet…”

You nodded, "I was thinking… if I could stay here- could my friends maybe take over the apartment for now? I’ll pay of course!” that caught everyone’s attention, “it’s just, I don’t really want to go back just yet, and they need a place to stay-“ you looked back at your friends, “assuming you don’t wanna go back down underground again.”

“Staying up here sounds wicked!” Undyne declared, “how big is your place?” 

“Not that big” you admitted “but should be big enough for four…” 

“Ah, so only a few of us can be there. But hey, that’s cool, don’t look so guilty!”

“I suppose you could…” your mother murmured,, mostly thinking out loud, “I don’t see anything wrong with that.. We can give you a spare mattress. But what about your neighbours?”

“They’re barely home anyway, it’s a pretty dead area and there’s forest behind my place so they don’t have to stay cooped up inside all day,” you turned to your friends, _, “_ I can do your shopping for you!”

“Sounds like a plan,” Sans grinned and ate the last bit of his bacon, “who should stay there tho’?” 

“I would suggest you, Papyrus, Undyne and Alphys.” Toriel said, “I’m going to talk to Asgore about conducting a plan for our immigration into society and what steps we should take. For you as well, seeing as you’re our ambassador now“ She nodded in your direction, “and I doubt that neither he nor I will be in need of an apartment until those plans are settled. We will both stay in the Underground to remain an example for the rest of the inhabitants.... they know that this takes more than just a day and that we can’t just barge up.” 

“I’ll let your father know. He can drive you there,” your mother smiled. “Now eat up! Some of you are only skin and bone!” 

“Mother!” 

Sans was howling with laughter. 

 

Your apartment consisted of a small bedroom with a queen sized bed, a combined kitchen and living-room with a black couch and large desk for your laptop and consoles. A TV hung on the wall across the couch with every console hooked up to it and on the spare wall were your shelves with all your games, movies and books. Scattered across the apartment were various figures and posters from games and movies you liked and a few headshots of eye-candy celebrities.  

With your father behind the wheel it didn’t take long to get everyone to the apartment, along with an extra mattress and some food. Sans and Papyrus were situated in the livingroom and Undyne and Alphys shared the bedroom. You quickly took them on a tour and let them know how to use all of your appliances and, embarrassingly so, discovered how dusty and overtaken by spiders your home was. Neither of your friends seemed to mind and Pap quickly whipped out your cleaning supplies and started scrubbing every surface squeaky clean. 

“So can we use these?” Sans asked and pointed to your consoles.

“Oh, sure! Let me show you how they work.” You owned an old ps2, an xbox 360, a ps3 and a ps4. The controller for the ps2 was dead, the xbox was dying, but the ps3 and ps4 worked as well as they should. 

“Neat,” Sans grinned with honest excitement in his eyes. They only had a ps1 back in his old house and as you had preached about the newer generations and all the games you owned, his curiosity for the current gens had grown tenfold. You showed them how your Netflix worked and created an extra account just for them in case you wanted to watch something at the same time. 

Everything in your apartment except for your laptop, camera, clothes and a few books, stayed with your friends. You already felt bad about not being able to offer them anything bigger than your two-room apartment - you didn’t want to bore them to death either by robbing them of the only entertainment you owned.

When all was said and done you hugged them goodbye and went back to your parents place, feeling strangely unresponsive to everything that was happening so far. You supposed that, seeing as it was only your second day back, it was hard to come up with a proper emotional response. 

In the following days, Toriel let you know that her and Asgore were in the Underground, planning out the monsters return and who should be contacted, and that you as the ambassador,  would have to see it through with them. They had instructed the rest of the Underground to please stay put or only roam around the top of the mountain, as a horde of monsters waltzing into a human town, could result in unwanted chaos. 

Your older siblings came to visit as soon as they heard the news of your return. Having to explain what happened all over again felt too complicated and so you asked your parents to be in on a little white lie: that you had amnesia. You would tell everyone soon enough what actually happened, but for now you needed time and you were pretty sure that so did your monster friends. 

The police search was called off, but not without an interrogation. When your explanation of amnesia was brought on the table, they looked less than convinced and incredibly concerned, thinking the worst. You were brought to a hospital for MRI’s and needed several doctors to look at your head, all who said that there was no sign of damage or trauma, but that perhaps you had suffered a shock but your memory should return. They would need you to check in once every second week to see how you were doing. 

You had never been good at lying. 

After three weeks the walls of your parents home no longer felt foreign or out of grasp, but familiar and ordinary. You had only just returned home from a check-up at the hospital when your phone buzzed.

 

_ ‘How’d it go?’ _

\- Sans 

 

_ ‘I mostly shrugged and went ‘dunno’ the entire time, but they didn’t suspect anything.’ _

\- Me

 

You kicked off your shoes and shouted hello to your parents before walking into the guest room and lying down on your bed. Your phone buzzed again. 

 

_ ‘Up for games tonight?’  _

-Sans 

 

You didn’t get to answer before Toriel called and you picked up the phone, “hello?”

“Hello dearie! Are you busy? Today was one of your check-up days yes?”

“Yeah, good timing, I literally just got home! It went fine, they don’t suspect anything - yet. What’s up?” 

“Ah, good, good!” Toriel sighed, “well, Dreemurr and I managed to get a hold of one of the secretaries at parliament. Alphys helped us uh, ‘hack’ I believe she called it, into their system so we could get their attention. We have set up a series of meetings and constructed a schedule. I have sent it to your e-mail. Alphys gave it to me, is that alright?” 

“That sounds awesome! She hacked the government?!” you laughed, “and yeah, that’s totally fine, I’ll take a look at it right away, I’m turning on my laptop right now.” 

“Great! Let me know if you’re free for the meetings, it would be a great help if you could be there for all of them.”

“Of course. It shouldn’t be a problem. I’m not doing anything else really.” 

“Right… well do take care of yourself, dearie, and I’ll see you soon!”

“See ya’!” 

You hung up and waited as your laptop finished loading and lagging before you could open up your email and download the schedule. It should be fine. There were a heck ton of meetings, but as you mentioned - you weren’t really doing anything else besides just lazing around and hanging out with your family and monster friends. There were meetings with several ministers and the ambassador of Ebott. On the edge of the schedule were some underlined names of news stations where Toriel had added a note saying ‘optional depending on how the meetings go’. 

You messaged back to her right away that you were free for all of the meetings and she replied with a ‘Wonderful!’ with several smiling emojis. Tapping out of her reply you saw Sans’ message and quickly replied back before you would forget:

 

_ ‘YES! Always B) Sorry I was on the phone with Toriel’ _

\- Me

 

“Mom!” you called and slithered of your bed with your laptop in hand. She gave a lazy ‘yes’ in response, letting you know she was in the kitchen, “Mom,” you noted again, forcing her to look away from the vegetables on the counter, “You know how I agreed to be the ambassador, yes? I just received a schedule with meetings from Toriel. I already agreed to be there for all of them-“ you handed your laptop to her.

Her frown wasn’t exactly subtle. “Are you sure you don’t want to take it easy a bit longer? According to this, your first meeting is this Friday and then they just keep coming and coming…” 

“I’m sure. I won’t be moving out or anything, so I’ll still be here. So far the meetings are only with the officials of our town” you smiled, pretty sure that at some point, you would have to travel outside of Ebott to make monsters a well-known phenomenon to the world.

“For now.”

“For now, yeah. But we’ll see. I mean, it has to be done. Toriel and Asgore could probably go on their own, but they’ll appeal to the office better if they have a human with them” you frowned.

“I know” your mother sighed and rubbed her cheek before handing back your laptop, “I know… but if it gets too much, you can always quit and just stay here and then we’ll slowly figure out how much you can do work and school wise, one day at a time. You know that right?”

“Mhmm. Thank you mom” you kissed her on the cheek before going back to your room. It was an office with a pull-out sofa, not exactly luxury or as personalised as your apartment, but you felt safe in your parents home. Sans had texted you back. 

 

_ ‘Cool, wanna join for dinner? With u here we could do take-out. What did Toriel call u about?’ _

\- Sans

 

_ ‘Yeh I’ll be there in an hour or so!  _

_ She gave me the schedule for all the meetings we have to go to (Y)’  _

\- Me 

 

_ ‘Neat. Tell us more about it when ur here’ _

\- Sans

 

You knew very well that, despite they had the forest behind the apartment, the four of them living together in that tiny space had them going nuts. The only excitement they really had were whenever you visited and they could order takeout or you brought them things from your mother or the supermarket. 

Thankfully it was almost halloween. You had tried to explain them what it was about and where it originated, but they mostly looked confused and weirded out. They did approve of your point of the story though - that they would be able to walk the streets, at least in the suburbs for a week or so around the time of the holiday, as many would think they were in costumes. 

Your mother looked slightly disappointed when you told her you were going to their place, “you only just got home,” she argued.

“I know, but I promised, and you know that they’re bored out of their mind.” 

“They could just go back to the Underground and hang out there then.”

You stopped midway picking up your coat, “excuse me?” 

“you know I don’t mean anything bad by it. I’m just saying that you could spend a bit more time at home. We’ve missed you.”

“Then say that instead,” you hissed. 

“Don’t be like that. You know what I meant.”

“Whatever.” You pulled your coat over your arms and shoved your keys into your pockets and quickly went out the door, “I’ll be home late.”

“Write a text when you’re there and when you’re leaving! And say hi from me!” 

With a nonchalant wave you left with residue anger foaming within you. Like hell she merely meant you were supposed to stay more at home. 

The walk was long but needed. The cold air helped to calm you down. You pulled up the hood of your jacket and put on your headphones, keeping your head facing the ground to avoid anyone recognising you. You still had yet to announce to your friends and former classmates that you were alive and well. How were you even going to do that? Would a post on facebook be enough? New status update; hey guys, I’m back just in time for halloween! No I’m not rising from the dead. I have totally normal explainable amnesia! Thanks for all the RIP messages, lol! That could work with a little bit of fine-tuning yeah? Yeah… no, that wouldn’t work. 

A leaf flew straight into your face and you sputtered in an attempt to blow it away. It was so strange seeing all the colours, the sky, the leaves turning red, orange and yellow, and not taking them for granted. Changing seasons had always been a part of your life, but after months in the underground where the surface had been ripped away from you, you fully learned to appreciate such simple things as the change of seasons - things that once seemed so normal or even overrated. You couldn’t imagine how it must be for your new friends to be here.

Walking up the two stories to your apartment you hummed a simple tune before knocking on the door. Undyne ripped it open while shouting behind her, “Sans!! Clean up your shit!” 

“Technically I’m not able to shi-“

“Just do it!! Hey there!” She turned to you with a big grin and shoved you in by the shoulder, “Come in, come in! Sans hasn’t cleaned up his part of the place yet -” Undyne shot a glare at the short skeleton currently holding a pile of clothes in his arms, “-but there should be enough room for you!”

You weren’t surprised the least to find all of Sans’ belongings in large heaps on the floor and laughed, “If not, I’ll just sit on your mess. It seems to mostly consist of socks anyway.”

“Be my guest” Sans shrugged and dropped his belongings with a satisfied grin.

Besides the mess you were pleasantly surprised to find that your apartment was still in tip top shape. You swore it became cleaner every time you visited and the smell of a lovely vegetarian dish filled the room, a nice change from the musky enclosed smell of an abandoned home. 

You pulled out your phone to quickly text your mother:   
  


_ ’I’ve arrived’  _

\- Me 

 

_ ‘:) <3’ _

\- Mom   
  


You didn’t say hi as promised and instead fell back on the couch with a sigh, “So are you still all sane after three weeks in this place?” 

“If a certain brother could stop farting and start cleaning it would be fine.” Undyne grinned at Sans’ offended glare. 

Alphys came out from the kitchen with a bowl of salad “It’s fine really! U-Undyne is only teasing. I mean it IS crammed, b-but we can’t really complain.” 

“You definitely can though, it’s not exactly ideal,” you noted, “hopefully it can be fixed soon.”

“Oh yeah, you spoke with Toriel today, yes?” Alphys asked 

“Yeah she sent me a schedule with a shit-ton of meetings, so starting Friday I will be out almost every second day speaking with old white men in suits. Nice going with the hacking by the way!” 

Alphys blushed and waved a hand, “Oh ah, heh! It was nothing!” 

“So we won’t be seeing much of you then?” Sans added and Papyrus poked his head out from the kitchen, his brow bone furrowed, “But we were supposed to finish that dragon game together?!” 

“We will Pap! When all of the important business stuff is done, I will have all the time in the world to beat up dragons and romance Cullen!” You threw a fist in the air and Pap, although he looked a little sad, nodded approvingly. 

The rest of the meal was brought to the table; falafel mixed with a kale salad with beans and mustard on the side along with cider and beer. Since last time you visited, which was only a few days ago, they had progressed quite far in both Fallout 4 and Witcher 3. They were done with Portal 2, Assassins Creed 1, 2, Brotherhood and Revelations and had just started on the third one. Note to self: you had to buy them more games to keep them from boredom.

“Where did we stop last time?”

“We were past the well of bad times” Undyne said.

“Sorrows” You corrected her.

“Bad times. Sorrows. Whatever.”

“Alright, Pap, you start and I’ll do the dishes! You made all the food so this is the least I can do - don’t give me that look!” You chuckled at his puppy eyes as you carried out the dirty plates and cutlery. To your surprise, Sans joined you with the bowls and glasses, “I’ll help you.” 

He dragged out the stool by your fridge and pulled it over to your sink. You tried to stifle a giggle but he knowingly smiled at you, “hey, no laughing at the little people.”

“It’s terribly adorable,” you admitted, “especially when you’re wearing the bunny slippers.”

“I’m armed,” he threatened you with the foamy sponge before going back to cleaning off the glasses, laughing subtly as he did. With his slow pace you easily dried off and placed the plates back on their shelf, all the while listening to Pap and Undyne arguing about what direction to take with the game. Undyne was incredibly suspicious of Morrigan and had suggested that the inquisitor should take the power of the well, but good-natured Pap had wanted the exact opposite. In the end, Morrigan got the power because you made the final decision and Undyne had been vary of the mage ever since. Currently they were arguing whether or not they should listen to her advice at the war table.

“Do they worry you?” Sans handed you the last glass.

“Hm? What does?”

“The meetings. You mentioned you didn’t have any experience with being an ambassador.”

“Few at my age do I suspect,” you chuckled and washed your hands free off soap, “it’s fine. Not much I can do about it anyway, or want to for that matter. I’ll see how it goes when I get there.” Drying the table and putting away the rags you turned to Sans, “Toriel and Asgore will be there and I’m sure they have experience enough for the three of us.” 

“Do you have any idea what the meetings will be like?” 

You shrugged, “not really no… I guess I’m mostly there to vouch for you guys and let Toriel and Asgore’s voices be heard.” 

“Brother! Human!!” Papyrus shouted from the living room, “Undyne wants to be showered with virgins by a strange man, but I- well I am conflicted!” 

You sputtered with laughter, “you need to fight that guy, Pap!” walking back to your seat on the bean bag he handed you the controller with much relief on his face, “he’s a bad man - also the virgins are not real, I tried that option once…” 

“God damn it!” Undyne groaned. 

Papyrus sat behind you with his long legs on each side of you and Undyne had taken over the other side of the couch with Alphys in her lap. Sans gestured if he could join you and moving aside for him he dumped himself on the bag. With a lot of wiggling he squeezed in nicely. 

For the remainder of the game you tried to press on through the story with four people back seat gaming behind you, shouting commands or questions. You could only imagine how it must be if your inquisitor was actually you, and the companions were Undyne, Pap, Sans and Alphys, all four questioning your authority and constantly bickering. Actually you would love that. When you got tired of holding the controller you handed it back to Alphys who dearly loved collecting all the flora and historical books, letters and puzzles. You slid further into the bean bag and Sans leaned into the side of your torso. You rested your head against Papyrus leg and before you knew it, you had fallen asleep. 

A light rummaging in the kitchen woke you up and you forced your heavy eyes to focus on the taller skeleton that was currently preparing some tea. Sans was sleeping soundly next to you while behind you Undyne was snoring on top of Alphys who was trying to stay awake and organize the inquisition garden. 

“Oh, you’re awake!” Papyrus whispered from the kitchen and you yawned in response. Lifting the teapot in your direction, you nodded and he poured you a cup. With five cups on a tray he gently placed them on the sofa table and nudged his brother awake. Sans blearily looked around and accepted a warm mug from his brother. He caught eye of you and straightening himself up properly on the bean bag, focusing his eyes on the TV. Undyne was given a gentle poke on her side, but her immediate response was to snuggle closer to Alphys, refusing the warm tea from Papyrus, “what time is it?”    
  
“Almost midnight!” Pap spoke a little louder. 

“Do you need a ride home?” Sans suggested and you hummed into your mug, “that would be nice!” 

You watched as Alphys finished up gardening and went out to collect more seeds while you drank the rest of your tea. If you could, you would’ve slept here, but there was barely any space for the four already living here. Twirling around the few drops that were left in your cup you watched the remnants of the tea leaves. Round and round they went until Sans poked your side, letting you know it was time to get ready. 

As you slid your arms into your jacket, Alphys called from the couch, “do let us know how the meetings go!”    


“I will! I hope they won’t be too boring,” you groaned, “I have a bad habit of falling asleep at meetings and lectures.”  

“And whenever you find time in your new busy schedule, do come by again Human! You always spice up our lives,” Papyrus admitted with flushed cheeks. You smiled. Was that a Spice Girl reference? “I will Pap. I think I’d lose my sanity if I didn’t see you guys at least once a week.” 

Sans slipped into his sneakers before grabbing your hand, “See ya’ in a bit guys.” He blinked in and out of existence, placing you in front of your parents front door. “Hey, you’ve gotten really good at this.” 

“I’m no longer hurling at least!” you laughed, “still a bit disoriented though.” The pull of Sans’ magic always managed to throw you off. Time and space moved so fast that you had learned to simply close your eyes and ignore the sensation until Sans would let go of your hand, indicating it was safe to open your eyes again. 

Sans smiled and swayed back and forth on his feet, hands in pockets, “say hi to your parents, and let me know if you need a pick-up next time you come over.” 

“I wil! Thank you” You leaned down for a hug and heard Sans sigh, “sleep well.” Before you could respond, he had taken a step back and blinked himself back to the apartment. 

The clock had passed midnight when you entered the house. Your parents were already sleeping so you had to tiptoe all the way to you room and slowly pull off your coat and shoes. You pulled out your phone and texted Sans:

_ ‘You too :P’ _   
\- Me    
  


You threw it on the bed as you changed into your pyjamas and fell down on your bed with a soft thump.While waiting for his response you checked your facebook and emails. The news of your re-appearance would, as far you knew, be posted in the newspapers next week. You still received well wishes in the next life from several friends who thought you were dead. A small part of you wanted to tell them you were alive, but honestly you would rather savour the last few days of peace you had left before the big news would be out. Your siblings wrote to you frequently, asking you about your health and how your hospital visits were going. ‘Same as always. Still blank but happy :)’ was your go to response. Your phone buzzed.

_ ‘Sorry hah, for once I was too fast at something’ _

\- Sans  
  


_‘No worries. I’ll revenge hug you next time’_  
\- Me  
  


_ 'I’ll prepare my best hug reflexes. Sleep well’  _

\- Sans    
  
  
_ ‘Ehehe. You too :) <3’  _   
\- Me    
  
  
There was a delayed response. 

  
_ ‘<3’ _   
\- Sans   
  


You fell asleep with your phone in hand, cheeks warm. 


	2. There is some hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter edited 23/6-2017

“According to the section three paragraph seven of your appeal; you have stated a desire to immigrate at least fifty residents a week…” blurred words of yet another old white man in another dark suit... Your eyes closed for several long seconds. You tried to stay awake by busying yourself with drinking several cups of water and fighting the urge to pee.

They were dreadfully slow with their bickering and bantering, passing passive aggressive comments and giving childish side eyes. You had it easy compared to Toriel and Asgore who had to remain more calm and poised than any human could hope to be on a good day.   


So far you have attended five meetings in total. The first one was by far the most nerve-wrecking. What had helped, or at least left you quizzical, were Toriel pulling you aside before the meeting saying, “they know about us. Back when Alphys hacked into their system, we were contacted by their Hidden History Specialization Unit, so we don’t need to spend time on explaining who we are or our situation. Hopefully.”

What both of you soon discovered was that ‘specialized’ meant: briefly informed about the existence of monsters. None of them had expected monsters to still be alive, or real for that matter, hence why - they admitted  - they had been so keen to arrange the initial meeting and easily overlooked the illegal hacking. It also meant that Toriel and Asgore did have to go through explaining who they were and what had happened.

“Do you have anything to add to this section?”  

“Uhm-” you trail of thoughts were cut short and you embarrassingly realized how hard you had been spacing out. Five pairs of angry eyes were staring you down, including two with worry. “No. I uh... think Miss Dreemurr covered everything…” A suited man raised an eyebrow before noting your comment and closed his notebook. “I believe we’re done for today. Same time next week.” 

You rushed out of the room as inconspicuous as you could, eyes on the ground with notes in hand. Stepping to the side you went down the empty hallway leading to the exit, waiting for Asgore and Toriel to catch up. You only looked up once a familiar paw was on your shoulder. ”I’m sorry,” you blurted out, “I spaced out, I’m really sorry.” 

“Don’t be sorry, child.” Toriel smiled ever so kindly at you, “you look tired. Hand me your notes and I’ll conduct a summarized note sheet for today, okay?” she pulled the notes out of your hand. You nodded solemnly, “yeah, okay… thanks Toriel…” 

“Go home for now. I’ll send you the final notes.” 

As they passed you, Asgore gave your shoulder a comforting squeeze. You couldn’t help but feel that you had disappointed them. You headed out the backway of the building, rushed to the bus stop and made your way home. 

You could feel your body shaking from the guilt and sheer pressure of those eyes on you. Out of all the men in the room, you couldn’t recall a single one who showed any care for the case so far. They looked too freaked out by having two monsters sitting in front of them to be able to focus on the issue at hand. You were pretty sure that bathing in your own sweat was no longer just an expression. You huffed as your hands had turned clammy in your lap and left a damp mark on your pants. You hated how absent you had been at the meeting today. Next time you would have to down a dusin cups of coffee to keep up.

For the rest of way home you stared absentmindedly out of the window. It wasn’t a long trip, but long enough to give you time to think over the meeting. Your thoughts were pulled out of your business related mind when in the corner of your eye you caught sight of a man holding a paper with the headline; _ ‘Missing person found. Police is still lost,’  _ with a large picture of your face underneath it. Well. At least your parents had had the decency to pick out an okay photo. You pulled up your hoodie and looked away.

Your parents weren’t home yet so you had plenty of time to read the paper at the dining table. The journalists had done a heck of a job of trying to find out what had happened to you and at the same time, criticizing the police for their inability to find you. The most popular theory was that you had been kidnapped and experienced something so traumatizing, that your brain had simply shut off and that was the reason for your amnesia. They asked an open question to the police; if other young adults or teens should fear this supposed kidnapper just the same. You threw the paper back on the table and ran a hand through your hair.    
With a deep sigh you turned on your laptop. Messages were already flooding in. From those that were distant friends that hadn’t cared much about you until you were suddenly gone; they mostly posted on your public facebook wall. Those you held dearest messaged you directly and kindly asked if you were truly back and if you were okay and wanted to talk. 

The only one you could muster any energy to call right now, was Sans.

“M’ello?” his drowsy voice hummed.

“Ey’ Sans. Am I disturbing?”   
  
“Nah, just playing Borderlands with Pap. What’s up?” 

“Oh nice! Ahm well uh, todays paper got out a few hours ago and my lovely mug is on the front page. I’m getting bombarded with messages from friends and family and uh heh...it’s a little overwhelming…” you heaved in a breath of air “... I’m not really sure how to say ‘hey I’m back and okay’ to a hundred plus people...”  

“Ah gotcha’... Need some help writing your resurrection message?” 

“Yes please…” 

You could hear Sans pause the game and put you on speaker. The girls were out walking in the forest so it was just the two brothers there. For now you ignored the many incoming messages and focused on announcing your return by writing a simple facebook status that said hello, yes you were indeed back, you had amnesia and barely remembered a thing and needed time to return back to a normal life and thanked everyone for their concern. You appreciated the many messages and well wishes and looked forward to seeing everyone again, but for now you had to take a step back and sort yourself out, “...that way you’re not pressured into replying immediately, cus' now they know you need some space,” Sans clarified and you hummed a thank you, “and if they do demand a reply then you’re free to ignore their inconsiderate asses.” 

You snorted and closed your laptop again, “Thanks guys, sorry for interrupting your game.”

“No worries, Human!” Papyrus spoke, “are you alright now?”   
  
“Yeah, I’m okay. I just got back from a meeting with the white men in suits and saw the paper and yeah…  I didn’t do too well, so it was just a bit overwhelming.”   
  
“Oh? I’m sure you did fine Human…”

“I was pretty absent minded,” you admitted,” did I tell you that most of them already knew monsters exists?”

“Really?” Sans inquired, “what does that change for us?”  
  
“Nothing really. They know of the battle and that monsters used to co-exist with humans. Many of them didn’t believe ‘the legend’ nor took it too serious until they actually saw Toriel and Asgore, and they’re still very vary of us. So many side-eyes man… They’re supposed to be experts on monster and human history, but I think they were only briefed  ‘monsters were a thing: the end.’ and have never expanded on that knowledge since they probably deemed it futile. At least that’s what it feels like.”  

“Huh, go figure... “ Sans groaned, “thank you for dealing with them tho’.” 

You laughed, “I’m trying my darnest at least. Thank you again. Let me know how the game goes?” 

Papyrus shouted goodbye to you, drowning San’s goodbye with his voice, and just in time for your parents to enter the room. They froze when they saw you and your mother’s first words were “Are you okay?” as she nodded towards the discarded newspaper. Your eyes began to sting. Why is it that whenever someone asks if you are okay, then you are immediately not okay? The rest of the evening you and your parents occupied the living room and watched the first three Harry Potter movies while ignoring the constant buzzing and dinging from your phone.  

As the meetings and weeks rolled by, you began to notice a pattern: Nothing happened.   
  
Nothing pushed forward. No one took your ideas or requests further and no one really gave a damn. You were sitting with literal fucking monster royalty in front of very old and regular human men. Nothing should demand more attention than this but they were so reluctant to listen to any of your requests that they might as well have been wearing headphones blasting ‘NEIN! NEIN! NEIN!’ whenever you spoke. 

You knew that changing the public view on something as alien as monsters would be a big change, but the least they could do was show some genuine interest, but they seemed so afraid of changing ‘the old ways’ that they feared even the possibility of broadcasting their re-appearance would have the citizens of Ebott run amok. 

Unless you could contact someone higher up soon you would sit here drowned in futile meetings until you turned old, grey and uncaring yourself. 

Another two weeks went by and Halloween was coming up. You had looked forward to this as you could finally bring your friends into town and out of that dusty apartment, but the excitement had dimmed from the luke-warm meetings. Alas showing your friends the tradition of dressing up as monsters and then taking their own monstery looks down a notch, proved to be rather fun for them. They all wore humanoid clothes and Papyrus and Sans did their best to hide the open space between their bones by wearing long sleeves, jackets and scarfs.

To join them and their new look, you wore a grey fluffy wig and painted an elaborate skull on your face and covered your neck with a thick black scarf. It wasn’t just to blend in with them but also to hide from the public eye. Far too many times already had you experienced someone looking up from behind their paper at a coffee shop that wondered if they could tell your story by simply looking at you.

As you showed your friends some of the less crowded shops in the neighbourhood, they marvelled at finally being able to see other humans up close and even more so at the many festive decorations. There was some hope to found in their eyes. Alphys pointed out the obvious morbid curiosity for the supernatural and strangeness of life and it made her feel a little less separated from the new world they were living in. Even more so when kids came up to ask for photos and Undyne whispered, “I wish I could see their faces the day they realize they’ve had their photo taken with a  _ real  _ monster!” 

October went by and November rolled in with the cold wind. You poured your thousandth coffee and was picked up by a car with tinted windows. Toriel and Asgore were already waiting inside. It had become routine by now. You were no longer dozing off, you had become steadfast and cut-through with your words, mostly due to your minimal appreciation for bullshit coming from the ministers and their constant tip-toeing around the important subjects. All you had managed to get from them in these two months were a feeble promise that you would soon get to talk to someone higher up - a promise that you barely believed in. 

Once seated you pulled out your phone and skimmed through various social media, something that had become a habit every morning as you checked up on your old friends and classmates. They were doing so well. All of them. Each and every one going to school or working a full-time job, starting families, getting married, having babies and - you locked your phone. 

“Are you alright?” Asgore’s deep voice shook you.

“Hm? Oh yes, sorry, just waiting for the coffee to kick in,” you smiled and he gave you a thoughtful nod. 

As you arrived at the ambassador's office you were pulled into a random meeting room with the usual amount of tea, coffee, cookies, fruit and papers and pens for grab. The day snailed away. You had taught Toriel how to make presentations in Power Point and briefly practiced a new opening speech with her where she had basically laid out a plan for the next ten years, keeping monsters away from humans as much as possible. It was almost pitiful to see just how much she had been forced to pull back to even be listened to. At first she wanted to immigrate in less than a year, now she was willing to wait ten years before any human would see a monster, as long as her people could get some sunlight. “We have to give them what they want before we press on with what  _ we _ want” she once explained to you.

You looked around the room. They all stared with intent at Toriel, intensely listening, but none with enthusiasm, only disdain. They all looked so fearful. Fearful of change, of the unknown, of the stories of monsters hiding under the beds and in cabinets, of sirens drowning sailors at sea, of trolls eating children in the forests. How wrong they all were. The only man in the room who showed any interest was a secretary named Adam. He had appeared at your meetings every now and then but lately he had been to every single one of them, writing page after page full of notes and always greeting you, Toriel and Asgore with a smile. He was also fairly young so you suspected he was a lot more excited about change than any old fart would be. From what you had heard and seen, the Prime Minister was relatively young as well. Hopefully that would be a plus. 

You woke up in your bed by the abrupt buzzing of your phone, “whu-” you looked down and discovered you were huddled up in your bed and sighed as you remembered, “must’ve fallen asleep when I came home… what a boring meeting.” Grabbing you phone you checked the message and saw It was Pap asking if you were alright. You hesitantly sent him back a thumbs up and a happy emoji before going back to sleep. 

The days began to muddle together. The ambassadors seemed unphased as ever, Toriel was steadfast and Asgore calm and collected. Were you the only one who kept forgetting if it was monday or wednesday and what you had for lunch? You checked your facebook during a break and saw a childhood friend with a new status update ‘4 months pregnant!’. With a frustrated groan you put your phone away. You looked forward to when you could pass out on your bed again. Your mother ruined that small joy as she woke you up as soon as she noticed you were asleep, worried you were messing up your sleep schedule. Ironically when you went to bed that night your brain refused to shut down and you got no sleep at all. 

You woke up with a sinking feeling. Another meeting, another futile disposition. Perhaps you needed to do more than just answer questions or defend Toriel and Asgore. Perhaps you needed to do more than just explaining your story and how nice everyone had been (and leaving out the battles and murdery details). Perhaps you had to be more stubborn and insisting. Perhaps you were the reason you were still stuck in those meetings that lead nowhere. Would pushing too hard or too fast give the government reason to shut your ideas down completely? Would you end up appearing irrational? 

Your phone buzzed. Undyne and Alphys had sent you a photo of them smiling brightly and wishing you good luck. ‘I’ll reply in a bit’ You thought to yourself, but only halfway through the meeting did you realize you had forgotten your phone at home. 

“Morning!” Adam greeted you in the hallway as you were chatting with Toriel. “How are you today? Enjoying the lunch break? The buffet is pretty great right?” he smiled. He could be in a freaking toothpaste commercial with those pearly whites. 

“Quite fine, thank you. Just a bit tired today. The meal is lovely though.” Toriel nodded your way with a worried look in her eye and you shrugged, putting on a smile “I just need coffee and you’ll see these eyes beaming with energy in a moment.” 

“Sounds about right,” Adam chuckled, “Say - if you have the time, would you mind staying  after the meeting? I’d love to chat some more.” 

“That sounds delightful. We’d be happy to stay,” Toriel replied and you nodded, “sure!” 

“Great! Well, time to get back in!” He held the door for you and you seated yourself between Asgore and Toriel. Adam, rather than standing in a corner like he usually did, placed himself opposite of your seat and smiled at you. He looked like a child at christmas. 

He jotted down notes as he usually did and you did your best to keep focused, but honestly your thoughts constantly went back to him. What did he want to chat about later?  Was he curious about Toriel and Asgore’s history or perhaps your own? Would he ask about their race, manners, culture or traditions? Would the questions be rude and inconsiderate, or perhaps show genuine care and interest? That last part was perhaps hoping too much but he was, so far, the only man who had showed the slighest kernel of kindness in this room.  

By the end of the meeting Adam excitedly gestured for you to follow him down the hallway towards the exit, “I’ll take you to my car, it’s at the very front of the parking lot. We should be able to talk in peace there.” As he lead the way his smile grew wider “I realize I haven’t introduced myself properly. I believe you already know that my name is Adam and that I am a secretary. I’ve been attending your meetings as a sort of… medium for my boss, as he's been very interested in the outcome of them,” or lack thereof, “Alas, his interest for your cause has peaked. He’s very interested in your constant drive to become a part of our society.” At the far end of the parking lot was a large black SUV with tinted windows. It looked like a slick version of a tank. Adam presented himself as a real gentlemen as he helped Toriel in, then Asgore and then you. He closed the door behind him and sat down across you. The back of the SUV was like a tiny meeting space of its own with two rows of seats facing each other with a small table between them. “Can I offer you a drink?”  

“Tea, please.” Asgore hummed.    
  
“Certainly!” Adam opened a small cabinet build into the table itself and brought out a tiny kettle and a bottle of water to pour in, along with a wooden box containing several brands of tea for Asgore to choose from. “As I was saying - my boss has showed great interest in your cause. He’s spoken highly of your ideas, at least the ones he could gather from my notes and - I believe this is going to interest you - he’d like to meet you.” As there was merely an interested ‘oh’l and a kind smile from Toriel, Adam looked stunned until he chuckled and clarified, “I forgot to mention that my boss is the Prime Minister.” 

“What?!” you sputtered, your eyes wide and body full of adrenalin. No amount of coffee could trigger this much energy in you. Toriel gave you a side-eye for your lack of discipline “Child!”, but Adam merely chuckled, “there’s no reason to not to be excited.”

“This is wonderful news, Adam, thank you,” Toriel spoke as poised as she could, “but I can not help but wonder why indeed he would talk to us? What exactly does he want to hear or ask us?”  
  
“You only need to present him the idea you already have. Pitch him what you pitched to the ambassadors, but might I suggest that you go back to some of your former pitches… It’s hard to not notice the length of years your plan is suddenly taking and personally I don’t believe there is need for a ten year immigration. Cut it down at least half, present it to him and let him ask the questions he find necessary. That is all he asks.”  

Toriel nodded, “we can do that” a smile forming on her lips.There was a glimmer of hope in her eyes. You hadn’t realized until now how her eyes had ever so slowly turned grey and how much you had missed the spark they usually held.

“Great!” Adam smiled and pulled out his trusty notebook from his inner pocket, “as his secretary I am in charge of his schedule and he requested to meet you as soon as possible. Would this Sunday at 10 am be alright? He is a busy man I’m afraid and otherwise he won’t be available until after New Years Eve.”

“That’s four days from now…” Asgore concluded and eyed Toriel with worry but she merely huffed, ”I’ve presented that pitch so many times I could tell it backwards by now. Sunday is fine.” 

You smiled at her stubborn drive and Adam gladly jotted down the meeting. “Let me drive you home,” he offered and took the driver's seat. As you lived close by compared to the mountain, you were dropped off first. Before leaving the car Toriel gave you a soft hug, “let’s meet before the pitch yes? Saturday perhaps?”   
  
“Saturday sounds good! Thank you so much, Adam” you peeked over to his seat and he gave you a nonchalant wave, “this means a lot to all of us!”   
  
“I can’t promise the outcome,” he reminded you, “but it's better than speaking to the same people over and over again.”

With a gentle wave of magic Toriel eased the door close and you went back inside your parents house, feeling both lighter and even more pressured than ever before. Finally the opportunity you so sorely needed was here, but if you blew it… blowing it wasn’t an option. 

The house was empty again. your parents were still at work so you pulled your laptop up on your bed and began to write a check list. Toriel knew exactly how to present her immigration plan: check. You knew the version of your Underground trip that was most convincing and human-friendly: check. Asgore knew when and how to take over and when not to: check. You knew how to keep calm and collected: not so much check. 

Rubbing your eyes from a stinging feeling you took in a deep breath. “God damn it…” you hissed. You had fought and befriended monsters. You had faced a terror that barely any could or would ever face. Freaking out over a meeting with a powerful man wasn’t panic worthy. You exhaled until your stomach pressed against your spine, humming quietly to yourself. Everything would be alright. Toriel had this under control. You would meet up on saturday and lay out the plans again. It would all be fine. No reason to panic about things that you couldn’t do anything about yet anyway. One day at a time.  

A loud ring from your phone caused you to jolt upright and grab for it, “hello?” you rubbed your eyes once more but there was only silence for a while, “...are you alright?” you recognized the concerned voice as Undyne.   
  
“Huh? Yeah!” you smiled, “I was just spacing out and my phone scared me.” Undyne paused a moment before chuckling, “you’re still such a softie! Anyways, your meetings for today are done right? Wanna come over for dinner?” 

“Oh uh-” you didn’t feel like it, and you felt guilty for not wanting to. Right now all you wanted to do was watch Netflix and eat junk-food alone in your bed. “Maybe another day? I need to gather myself - we got some pretty big stuff coming up.” 

“Oh…” Undyne huffed, “well alright! What’s the story?” 

“I don’t think I can tell you yet, but I’ll let you know on Sunday.” 

“God damn it! Can’t you at least give me a hint?” Undyne groaned.

“Nope!” You laughed, “you have to be patient young grasshopper-” she hung up on you. You howled with laughter. A few seconds later you received a text with very angry emoji’s and a  _ ‘PS: wish me luck, I’m beating up Pap in borderlands!’  _

You felt a bit calmer now.

Saturday came around before you had a chance to even register it. You had tried to spent the past three days researching ways to go back to school. It felt like the only thing that could keep you mentally grounded as it was such a time consuming process. Your absence had put your education on hold and you’d have to take the semester over. Thankfully due to your disappearance not being on purpose, you weren’t thrown out. You were thinking about changing up a few courses to something humanitarian or political, thinking it might help your new position as an ambassador, but it wasn't exactly your strong suit and you knew you would struggle through the entire course, but it could be worth it - but who was to say that being an ambassador would go on forever and that you wanted to keep a political career?

At this moment you had to forget those thoughts as you were in your living room listening to Toriel’s new pitch. Your father and mother had thankfully let you borrow the house for the day so you could go over the plan in peace. Your parents were every bit as excited as one could be about a meeting with the Prime Minister and understood the importance of peace and quiet to properly plan (although they really wanted to stay and help). Asgore jostled your shoulder, “have you slept alright?” he kindly asked. You were dozing off again. Toriel frowned at you and you shook yourself awake, “Yeah… I don't know why, I’m just tired.” 

“We all are, child.” Toriel spoke coolly, turning back to her presentation. You felt your heart sink. She continued talking for a bit before you abruptly interrupted. 

“Toriel…” you folded your hands, “are you… mad at me?” 

Toriel sighed and rubbed a paw over her temples, “...I’ll be honest, child. I had hoped that your contribution to the cause  would’ve been greater than what you’ve shown so far. Perhaps it is time for you to prioritize your duties and put away your phone and laptop and whatnot, as it is obviously distracting you and keeping you up at night.” 

You huffed a constrained noise “It’s not keeping me up, who or what gave you that idea? I’m only checking my phone because-”

“We are trying to forge a gap between two races caused by war. I am only asking you to stop ‘texting’ and ‘chatting’ the unnecessary amount that you are. It’s not an unreasonable demand."

You clenched your jaw as your lip quivered, “I’m just...trying to keep up with my friends…” 

“They can wait.” Toriel sighed, “look, I don’t like reprimanding you. By human standards you are an adult and you know what’s best for yourself and where your priorities lie. Perhaps you should get some sleep before tomorrow. I’d ask you to reconsider whether or not you want to be at the meeting, but frankly we need a human there to convince them.” Before you could even protest she was packing away her things. Your hands were clenched over the fabric of your pants. Asgore sat beside you, tense and silent. You couldn't tell if he agreed with her or or not, but he did let his paw stroke your back once before he got up to leave. 

“We will see you tomorrow. Sleep tight deary.” Toriel smiled before she left. You didn't follow them to the door. You only waited for the sound of it closing shut before hiccoughing a choked cry. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote this entire chapter to (hopefully) deal with some more heavy stuff. As I was playing the game I always found Toriel a bit sketchy and very self-rightous, sometimes even demanding as long as she was, in her mind, in the right. I wanted to explore this a bit more as being a nasty side next to her more motherly side :)


	3. Mr. Williams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter edited 3/7-2017

With puffy and irritated eyes you forced yourself to scan the details of the plan again.  For fucks sake it was only 2 am. You have stayed up later than this back when you were a teen. You should’ve perfected the no-sleep-skill by now.

_‘You should reconsider whether or not you want to be at the meeting’_ , stop thinking about it. Read the plan. Again. You can never read a plan too many times. _‘We are trying to forge a gap between two races caused by war’_ You know that. Toriel knows that you know that right? Why would she say that as if you didn’t know the most obvious part of the whole plan? _‘They can wait’_ For fucks sake stop thinking about it.  

You shut the laptop down. You were never going to be able to re-read the plan like this. Was the laptop really at fault? Was your phone? No. The problem was that you were never an ambassador to begin with. You had no idea how to do this job. And it was a fucking important job. Why couldn’t a lawyer have fallen down the hole? Or jumped down.. or… how did you end up in the Underground again? 

Taking in a deep breath you rested your head against the cold wall of your bedroom. Fuck this. The sound of your parents snoring in the next room was the only normal thing about this night. You were tempted to just sneak into their room and sleep at the footing of their bed, but you were 22 and not a toddler anymore. You didn’t want to disturb them. 

You wanted to write to someone, just to say hi and ask what they were doing but it was 2 am. You also didn’t feel like you could complain when you were the root of your own problem. You couldn’t write to any human friends, not yet. You knew Sans used to have trouble sleeping back in the underground, but there was no saying he still had that now. You took the chance to write _ ‘Hello skele-boy, are you awake?’  _

You lied back down on your bed and stared at your phone. It pinged a second later. 

_ ‘Vaguely. Why r u up so late?’ _

\- Sans 

_ ‘Thinking too much and I can’t sleep. Feeling restless. Are you sleeping any better?’ _   
\- Me  
_   
_ _ ‘How come?  _ _   
_ _ Yeh sort of. All of the residents snore tho. Including Pap and Undyne.’ _   
\- Sans   
  
__ ‘Stuffffff. Oh god haha. I had forgotten how thin the walls are. Sorry bout’ that I’ll get you all out of there soon enough.’

\- Me   
  
_ ‘Nah it’s okay, don’t worry about it.  _ _   
_ _ So I really can’t sleep now wanna go for a walk?’ _   
\- Sans   
  
_ ‘Ooooh, yes please!!’ _   
\- Me    
  
__ ‘Nice. I’ll pick u up at ur front door (Y)’   
\- Sans   


You grabbed the hoodie on your chair and found some sweatpants to pull over your pyjamas. Sneaking as quietly as you could through the house you managed to open the front door with little to no sound, pushing with one hand against the door as you clicked the lock open. With a pop Sans appeared before you and you closed the door behind you. 

“Ready?” he gave a lazy smile and extended a hand to you. With a simple pull he moved the two of you to the forest behind the apartment. You let out a shaky breath “I’m getting better at it, but it still feels weird.”    
Sans laughed, “I don’t think it’s ever going to feel natural if you’re not the one doing it.” He continued a steady pace through the forest, gesturing for you to follow. It was so incredibly quiet during the night with only the occasional creak from an animal. The moon lit up the ground, letting the tall trees cast long shadows and light your way. “So…”

“So…” he echoed.

“Is it awful to be in the apartment or is it bearable?” 

Sans shrugged, “It’s alright. You’re worrying too much about it. It’s not a castle, but we didn’t expect one either.”

You smiled a little, “how about Undyne and Pap though? I can imagine they might feel a bit cramped up in there?”

“Oh definitely. They look like they’re about to explode at any moments notice but they remedy that by taking long runs after midnight.”   

You nodded, “that’s good… they’re such bombastic monsters I’d feel claustrophobic if I were them.”

“Mhmm… so.” The pinpricks of San’s eyes moved your way.

“So…” 

“How come you’re feeling restless?”

You bit your lip. There was no way around it. Sans had already picked up on your troubled expression and you groaned, “I just… feel nervous I guess. There’s a big meeting tomorrow. We’re meeting the Prime Minister and - don’t tell anyone about this by the way, I explicitly told Undyne I couldn’t tell her about it until after the meeting was over.” 

“Cross my soul” Sans’s eyes grew, “no wonder you’re restless. You’re meeting the big guy.”  

“yeah… yeah I just hope it goes well. Toriel was pretty confident she could pitch her plan to him, saying she could practically tell it backwards by now.”

Sans chuckled, “I bet she could. It’ll be fine, just let her the take the lead, it’s how she likes it done most of the time anyway.” 

You were so close to bursting. You so badly wanted to tell everything she had said to you, but who were you to do that? It would be mean wouldn’t it? Mean to Toriel and mean to drag Sans into it. Besides, Toriel was stressed as hell, she had had her reasons. You settled with “yeah… I just want to be more useful. I want to do more than just follow behind her.” 

“Hey. Kid. You’re doing a shit ton of work already. It’ll be fine.”  

“Doesn’t feel like much right now. I’m not good at the political stuff. I’m better at just… chatting with monsters and dodging spears,” you huffed a half-hearted chuckle. 

Sans went quiet and stopped walking. You halted and turned to look at him. He was frowning, “Look… Toriel was a queen for decades and before that she was a princess and a warrior too. She was raised into politics. You can’t expect to know all that she knows. It’ll be fine. You will do fine.” 

“That’s true…” you sighed and ran a hand through your hair, “I just…” you repeated yourself “I hope it goes well.”

“It’ll go as it goes. As long as you do your best, no one can expect anything else from you. C’mon, you look like you need some sleep. I’ll take you home.” He extended his hand with a friendly smile and with a subtle nod you took his hand in yours.

Your mother’s subtle shake woke you up. Her voice was barely audible and your eyes saw her as nothing but a blurry motherly shadow. A brisk shower and a good chunk of Nutella in your coffee later, the world seemed a bit clearer. Adam picked you up with Toriel and Asgore already waiting inside of his SUV. Asgore gave you a polite nod and Toriel sat straight and looked sternly out the window. It was an important day and not even Asgore dared to disrupt her focused state. 

Your stomach turned when you met her eyes. You felt like you had committed a crime. 

Adam was cheerful and chatting away thinking nothing of the silence, “it’s a big day today huh? I understand you need to stay as focused as possible!”

As you pulled into the driveway of the Prime Minister's residence, it dawned upon you. This very building that once and still does seem so scary and unavailable to you, you were now stepping into it. You wished for the world to slow down so you could run back home, have a nap and a bit of comfort food and run back again before anyone had moved.  

With a quick knock on the door, Adam waited for the ‘come in’ before pulling down the handle and leading you into the main office of the building. “Hello! Please do come in” the Prime Minister stood up to meet you halfway and greeted all three of you with firm handshakes. Three other men were surrounding the room, including two large bodyguards and of course Adam who now stood behind the Prime Minister and pulled out his trusty notebook. 

A scrawny man came up behind you with a tray full of fresh fruit, cheese and crackers, some tea, coffee and sparkling water. You couldn’t accept any of it as you were too nervous to eat.  

“It’s nice to finally meet you face to face. You must be Queen Toriel and you King Asgore as far as I understand?”  
  
“Former Queen, sir. I am the king’s advisor now.” Toriel corrected him.  

“Ah yes of course, I must have misread the notes. And you must be the human ambassador chosen by the Monsters? Yes? It’s lovely to meet you all.” He smiled, “As you all most likely know by now, I am the Prime Minister but please address me as Sir or Mr. Williams. I will cut straight to the chase as I am afraid we don’t have much time. According to my assistant and from what I can gather in his notes, I have come to understand to you, Miss Toriel, have an incredibly detailed plan for the rehabilitation of your people. I’d very much like to hear it.”  

“Of course Sir, thank you Sir. I have a power point with me if that is alright?” Toriel smiled and the Prime Minister gestured to the computer next to him, “please.” 

Toriel was an expert. Her voice as strong as it was, was persuasive, firm, not threatening but reassuring. She only broke eye contact with the Prime Minister to point out an important detail of her presentation or to encourage you and Asgore to chip in. The Prime Minister seldom interrupted to ask a question, but they were always questions that lead Toriel to continue her speech with fluidity and not to halt her or make her feel inferior. 

When she finished, the Prime Minister thanked her and turned to look directly at you and asked, “you’ve lived with monsters for a couple of months. How would you describe it? And be honest please.” 

You swallowed. You’ve answered this question before, but never to him. You huffed a weak grin before quickly killing it. Don’t grin you idiot. “Well… I would say that I’ve never felt more welcome in a new place, Sir. I was a complete stranger. Someone who could’ve been dangerous and should’ve been according to our history together, but they all took me in… To- Miss Toriel was the first one I met. She nursed me back to health after I fell into the mountain and as I made my way back home, she continued to watch over me. Everyone I met gave me advice, they shared their food, their homes, their lives...”

The Prime Minister nodded with a smile before asking again, “but you did return home after all. How come you couldn’t stay there? Were you scared?” 

You went blank for a moment. You swallowed as you had the full attention of the room. Searching for an appropriate answer you replied, “Because after I fell down into their world, I ended up having family in two places. One I had yet to return to and one I was living in. But after hearing their stories I knew I couldn’t stay there. They all wanted to see the sun so badly and I had the opportunity to help so I had to. I want monsters to have the lives they deserve and live wherever they want to live, whether it be above ground or under ground. I want humans to see how wonderful they are.” 

Asgore made a thoughtful noise. It captured your attention and you saw a smile that reminded you of your father in his proudest moments. It calmed your nerves a little, but you avoided looking at Toriel. The Prime Minister’s smile widened, “did you get all of that?” he nodded at Adam, “that was a wonderful answer and it is exactly the kind of answer you will need to give to a journalist once we announce your presence.” 

Your eyes widened and you were about to open your mouth to speak but Toriel cut you off, “does that mean that you will support us, sir?” 

“Yes. It will be my privilege to do so but it will not be easy. We need to go slow and prove to the rest of the government that you are capable of migrating seamlessly. You have to understand... the last two generations brought up in Ebott have all grown up to believe that the tale of the war was nothing but a tale. Many would like it to stay that way. 

"Therefore I suggest that we focus on bringing the majority of your people up over the course of a year. Your population is small, only a couple of thousand. We have a very old town that is mostly isolated and practically abandoned. It was supposed to be demolished to make way for a public area with shopping centers and sports centers, but the plans didn’t fall through. Which means that we have a lot of empty houses that need a bit of care, but we can easily immigrate you there and prove that you mean no harm.   
  
"Eventually they will have to announce your presence whether they like it or not. Of course I will have to ask you not to speak about this to anyone and you will have to sign an NDA for security measures. It pleases the administration.” 

You almost couldn’t believe your ears, “Sir, that is incredible.” your voice quivered, “more than we could ever have hoped for.” 

“Agreed. Prime Minister, Sir- we can’t thank you enough. This is… this is incredible news!” Toriel’s enthusiasm seeped out and she almost squealed but quickly put on a stern face again.    


“Excellent! I’ll have the needed paperwork done and I will need you to come back next week, read them through and sign them, and then we can start moving up your people.” 

Asgore’s voice rumbled next to you, “Thank you, Sir. This is a big step towards forging a new world for us all” his eyes were rimmed with tears.  

Adam had a bodyguard drive you back home as he had to get started with the paperwork straight away. You invited Toriel and Asgore inside and practically screamed the news. Your father was startled straight out of his chair, “No! Really?! That is excellent news!” he embraced you and then pushed you out to hold you by the shoulders, looking you straight in the  eyes, “fantastic job.” He turned to Toriel and beamed at her, “are you excited to get started?”

“More than you can imagine!” she chuckled. 

“We should tell the others. Could you call them?” Asgore pointed to the phone in your pocket, “sure!” you whipped it out and dialed Sans and put it on speaker. 

“M’ello?” 

“put it on speaker!” you demanded.

“uh-” there was a bit of fumbling before he spoke again. “There. What’s up?” 

“So hello there my fellow monstery friends. I have big news coming from the royal fussies and the human ambassador extraordinaire,” you were feeling giddy now and Sans snorted heartily. Papyrus shouted ‘Is the human calling?!’ from the other end of the room. 

“We just finished our meeting with the Prime Minister and we can conclude that-”

“We’re signing the contract to move into town next week!!” Toriel shouted, taking you by surprise, “oh- sorry darling.”

You merely laughed as her apology was drowned by the elated shouts coming from Undyne, Pap and Sans going ‘That’s fantastic!’ with Alphys chiming in a ‘I-I knew you could do it!’ The phone was promptly grabbed and Undyne screamed into it, “this calls for a celebration, Punk!”

“I agree!” Asgore chimed in, “it’s been so long since we’ve had any gathering of sorts.” 

“I meant more like a big party ol’ fussball” Undyne laughed, “but we’ll show you the ropes.” 

“Let’s have it in the Underground shall we? Like a final ‘goodbye’ party?” Toriel beamed. You liked her sunny enthusiasm a lot more than her stiff regal disposition the past month. Like this you could feel safe around her again. Perhaps you could just forget about your little disagreement yesterday. 

“I like the sound of that!” You smiled. 

A ring from the door signified your mother’s return and Asgore and Toriel left so you could have dinner with your parents. Before stepping out the door Toriel pulled you into a warm embrace, “Thank you child, you did well today.” You smiled at her, feeling your pride swell, “Thank you Tori. And you were incredible!”

Later that evening you got an email that the papers would be ready to sign on tuesday. You reminded yourself to get some proper sleep so you wouldn’t start drifting off while reading the documents. When you went to bed, Undyne was texting you about the party and you fell asleep while dreaming about colorful balloons.  

On the friday of that same week, you were driving to the mountain in your father's car with him at the wheel and Sans and Papyrus in the back. They were completely squeezed together by the amount of stuff packed in there including booze, snacks, your water pipe (which neither of them had ever seen before), soda, board games and more. You almost broke your neck as you looked back over your seat to talk to them, “Mr. Williams was- Oh man, he was so nice you guys, seriously so nice!” 

“You mentioned this.” Sans sighed.  

“He was so kind and explained everything in the contract! I had like, no reason to be nervous at all! Seriously Sans, you’ll be able to move in next week! We can go to the movies and go shopping and go to beach and-!” 

“I’m so excited!!!” Papyrus shouted. He was much too tall for the car and had to cup his knees.

The week had rushed by in no time. Tuesday came around, the papers were read an instantly signed. It was a year long plan to have half of the Underground population moved into the old part of the city. Then the Prime Minister would report back to the administration and, he hoped, have the rest of the population moved in in less than 6 months. He saw no problem in having monsters co-existing with humans. As he said, _ ‘When I was given this position they immediately briefed me of your existence. They never elaborated so I studied your kind myself and the true history of the war. In my opinion the war should never had lead to such a drastic decision’ _

He never elaborated on the ‘true history’ of the war and you never asked, far too excited about the prospect of your friends moving up to live with you.  

As you arrived at the foot of the mountain, you father helped you carry the things out and gave you a peck on the cheek “remember our family dinner on sunday. We need to celebrate this and tell your siblings, alright?” 

“Of course! Thanks for the ride!” you gave him a hug and lifted up one of the heavier crates to carry them to the new entrance of the mountain. Telling your siblings about your trip to the underground didn’t even remotely scare you right now.

“Yeah, thanks for the ride, Sir” Sans nodded and proceeded to lift five crates with a wave of his hand and a bit of magic.  

“Aw man that’s just cheating.”

He shrugged, “using my magic is incredibly hard you know, I can barely walk and talk while doing this. Even a gust of wind could make me fall-” Papyrus promptly answered by sticking his leg out in front of his brother and Sans merely floated over the lanky bone, “See? The wind lifted me.”  

As you passed through Asgore’s castle and down the long slopes and alleyways of the city, the memories of your time here flooded through your mind. It was strange to willingly walk back here, to even be excited about it and to feel a certain nostalgia about the place. Sans had been watching you and nudged your side, “remember our little date there?” he gestured to the restaurant next to Mettaton’s hotel.

You snorted, “Was it a date? I remember that I had to pay money to even look at the cutlery.”

“You two were on a date? Without me!?” Papyrus huffed. 

“You honestly weren’t missing out, bro” Sans laughed “It was the calculators restaurant.” 

“His name is Mettaton, and I bet that everything he has ever created is amazing!” 

Undyne and Alphys met you halfway at the lab. They had constructed a DJ stand for Napstablook and all of his gear and needed help carrying it. Papyrus gave all of his bags to the two ladies and took the DJ stand over his shoulder, carrying it high enough to not hit anyone.    
At the entrance to Hotlands Undyne laughed, “This was just before you tricked me into the hotlands!” technically you didn’t trick her. More like ran for your life. 

It was when you reached Snowdin that the sound of excited monsters boomed through the town. The library had been emptied out to make room for a large dancehall. Several rooms was put into use as relaxation areas and places for people to drop their coats. As soon as you put down the boxes, you were tackled by  friends you hadn’t seen for what felt like years. Doggo sniffed his way through the crowd consisting of Shyren, Snowdrake, Lesser and Greater dog and Vulkin, and demanded to have at least a half of a dusin pets. They all congratulated you on you, Toriel and Asgore’s success, but you tried to wave away their compliments as you didn’t feel responsible for the final contract. 

“Alright I believe our celebrity needs a little space.” Sans gently pushed everyone aside and Doggo huffed, “you’ve been hanging out for months already! Let us enjoy this!” 

“We have the entire night Doggo! And the rest of our lives after you move up!” you excitedly exclaimed and pulled Doggo in for a side-hug, gently rubbing his arm. 

“Heh, c’mon, we still need to set up a few things, including your water pipe before going back to our place..” 

“Right!” you grabbed the box with the waterpipe and followed Sans into one of the smaller rooms full of pillows, blankets and crystals hanging from the ceiling. You whistled and put the box down in the middle of the room, “who decorated this?” 

“I believe it was Toriel.” 

“oh wow. It’s very hippie-ish. That sort of makes sense though” 

“Hippie-ish?”

You picked up the pieces for the water pipe and placed them on the ground “It’s a period in time where everything was very uh, anti-everything. Anti war, anti politics, anti restrictions of all kinds. Lots of sex, drugs and naked people in peace camps.” 

“....and that’s very Toriel?” 

You laughed “She’s more like the ‘peace, love and understanding’ and billions-of-flowers-everywhere part.” 

“Aha…” he squinted at you. 

“Don’t look at me like that!” you elbowed him, causing him to laugh, “I’ll show you pictures some day.”

“Yipii, naked high humans.” 

You both laughed, unable to put together the water pipe until you calmed down. When there was minimal work left to do, Doggo announced that he would take care of the rest together with Dogamy and Dogaressa so you, Sans and Papyrus could go back to their house and get properly dressed. You personally felt the need for a hot shower. When you entered their house you shouted ‘SHOTGUN’ and ran up the stairs with Papyrus right behind you and closed the bathroom door in front of his face. You giggled at his sad  “noooo…” on the other side of the door.

It was truly strange to be back in their home. Every crack in the wallpaper and the constant burned smell from the kitchen made you feel somewhat at home. You stripped down and stepped into the shower, douching yourself with burning hot water. It had been far too long since you felt this relaxed ever since you stepped into your ambassador role and you could only hope that you would be allowed some downtime, at least until New Years. Please work gods, be on my side.     
Stepping out you wrapped yourself with a towel and instantly remembered, “Arh fuck, hah I left my clothes downstairs. Idiot.” Peeking your head out through the door you shouted, “Hey brothers!” 

There was a lazy “hm?” from the couch downstairs.

“I left my clothes in my backpack next to the couch, can you bring it to me?” 

“It’s too far away.” You could hear Sans grin.

You deadpanned, “I can also just shimmy my way downstairs completely naked and drip water everywhere and I can give you your first look into human anatomy-” by the last word Sans went “nope” and the backpack had popped up in front of you with a faint blue glow to it, “thanks!” 

The outfit you had picked was a simple black slick look. Easy to get into and easy to accessorize with anything. You had picked out some simple golden pieces and a matching dark leather jacket. You kept your hair simple and ruffled it with some hairspray before swooping it to one side. “There! That’ll have to do.”

As you stepped out Papyrus stood outside ready to take over the bathroom. He gasped as he saw you and grabbed your hand to spin your around, “your outfit is positively dashing!” you chuckled and bowed before him, “thank you Paps!” You occupied the living room while waiting for both brothers to get ready. Sans didn’t seem to feel the need of a shower and had locked himself in his room, so you allowed yourself to play some music on your phone to get in the mood. You were deeply occupied by the music and softly humming along when Sans cleared his throat at the top of the stairs. Quickly your eyes met his and your took in a sharp breath of air, smiling broadly, “Sans! Damn boy!” 

He lifted his imaginary dress and bowed. He was wearing a dark grey t-shirt over black jeans and black shoes, including a colorful rolled up blazer that showed off the thick bones of his lower arms. “You look damn good!” meeting him halfway by the stairs you instinctively took his hands to get a better look and he laughed, “Always happy to please. You clean up nice.” 

“You think? It’s pretty simple.” You took a look at yourself and felt underdressed compared to Sans.

“It suits you. Really.” He gave you a look that you could only describe as unwavering.

The door to the bathroom opened and out stepped a very shy, tall and dapper dressed skeleton. Well _ now _ you felt underdressed. Papyrus was clad in a shirt and west coat with a polka dotted bowtie and long pants that matched in color. Both you and Sans whistled in unison, “You look amazing Pap!” walking past Sans to get to Papyrus you took in his full look and marveled at his shiny shoes and polka dotted socks, perfectly matching his bowtie. “You think so?” Papyrus beamed, “Mettaton picked it out for me! He has such excellent taste in clothing - and restaurants” he pointed at Sans. Just as his eyes locked with his brother he blinked and seemed to have frozen in time, “WOW brother! You’re not wearing basketball shorts!”

“Heh, not this time no.”

“I didn’t think any event could make you dress up! It suits you!” 

“Well it is a pretty big day.” Sans winked at you and went to pick up his coat, “ready to go?” 

The festive lights from the library could be seen even from the brothers house, and as you made your way there you met up with Undyne and Alphys who had dressed in black and blue matching outfits.They waited outside the door to the library and fawned over your choice of outfits, especially Sans whom they claimed had put more effort into this outfit than anything he’s done in years.    
RG01 and RG02 stood in the entrance and accepted everyone’s coats and bags, exchanging quick kisses whenever they could, and as the party had only just started and most people had yet to arrive, you suggested to start in the chill-out room. Everyone followed along and watched intensely as you put the ‘apple’ flavour in your waterpipe and set fire to the coal. The first few breaths were always awful and burned your throat but you had learned to keep a poker face and heaved in a big breath to get it going and finished by exhaling a large thick cloud of smoke. Everyone oooh’d and aaah’d, and you continued for a while to make sure it wouldn’t die before passing it on to Undyne. “So you don’t swallow, you just pull in a breathe of air and then exhale. Just be careful, it’s still a bit strong.”

“HAH! Strong is my middle name!” Undyne snatched it out of your hand and basically heaved in all she could muster causing the water to bubble like crazy. Her eyes slowly began to tear up. With a jerk she spat out all of the smoke and coughed a few pathetic clouds. Neither of you could stop yourself from laughing. She tried again until she got it right and passed it on to Alphys. Alphys eyed it for a while before passing it on the Papyrus, “I-uh, I think I’m good with just this” she showed off a cute pink drink she got from the Nice Cream Guy at the bar, whose name you still had yet to learn. 

You watched intensely as Pap pulled in a huge chunk of smoke but he never exhaled. He looked troubled and you realized that he had simply forgotten what to do next and you shouted, “Paps, spit it out!” he never got to that part and practically burst the smoke out through his nose. You held back a snort as he smacked his lips “that was uh…. interesting. I shall try again!” 

It didn’t take long before more guests arrived and Doggo, Bratty, Catty and Burgerpants had joined you as well. Toriel peeked in at some point and pursed her lips at the scenery but none the less she still had a go at the water pipe before deeming it futile (she was very clearly frustrated that she couldn’t get it right) and she left to go check on the other guests. You all chuckled at her cute attempt before you received the pipe again, and all eyes were on you. Sans changed seats and sat down next to you, “Alright, I need to see this up close.” he explained and you wiped down the pipe with a laugh, “I can’t promise it will look good.”    
But it did.    
  
You had just remembered how to make smoke rings and the attention you received felt really good. For once you received attention for  something you actually found quite cool about yourself. You took in another deep breath and blew it out through your nose and then simultaneously through your nose and mouth, impressing everyone in the room. “Your turn. You’ve avoided it the entire round.” you handed it to Sans.

He gave a little shrug before pulling in a deep breath and you observed as his hard skull became malleable and his lips pursed around the snout. It was deeply fascinating. His eyes closed as he put away the handle and grinned knowingly at you as he let the smoke ooze out from the neck of his shirt.    
“How the- How even?!” you laughed and clapped your hands, “I love that, holy shit.” he gave a mock-bow and Undyne snatched it out of his hand, “my turn!” 

Opening your first can of beer you shouted, “Alright everyone, cheers!” Cans clinked together and were instantly chugged. On a whim you gestured for Sans to lend you his arm and you looped it together to drink with crossed arms. He laughed as the beer dribbled down your chin.   
Wiping it with your sleeve you called out for a drinking game and Burgerpants offered his playing cards. Taking a full beer bottle you put it on the ground and placed a card on top of it, and one by one the circle put cards on until the stack fell and the responsible had to chug their drink. Burgerpants was surprisingly steady with his hands and didn’t lose even once not until you ‘accidentally’ sneezed on the pile, “awh man, seems like you have to drink!”

“You sneezed on it!”

“it was the wind! A very precise small gust of wind!” 

“Why do I play with you…” he grunted and downed the last of his drink, hiding a smile. 

When the clock struck midnight, every single guest had arrived except for one. Papyrus was standing at the doorway of the chill-out room, looking like a lost puppy. “He’s still not here…”

“Fashionably late Pap” Undyne mused with a breath of smoke coming out between her teeth. 

Just as those words had left her mouth, a very familiar cheerful metallic voice could be heard down the corridor. Papyrus jumped and rushed down to greet his friend and in sync with his ‘Hello darling!’ Sans did the loudest groan and grabbed a new beer. Mettaton waltzed into the chill-out room and spread his arms out, “Hello all my lovely friends! How come you’re all sitting here? Blooky just took over the DJ stand.”   
In your wobbly state you somehow managed to get up on your feet, “Metta!” he caught your waist and pulled you close before spinning you around to the sound of yet another groan from Sans, “You look positively delightful this evening! Black never goes out of fashion but I’d still love to see a pop of color on you” he winked. You laughed, “some day I might, but I’m too much of a mess to handle anything but black, I’m too clumsy when I drink! Oh! But I love the outfit you picked for Pap! He looks so dashing!”

“Doesn’t he? The man has so much potential that he rarely utilizes.” Mettaton came in close to whisper, “wait until you see what I have in store for christmas.” He caught eye of the object the group was circled around and pointed to it “Oooh, and what is that if I may ask?” 

“A water pipe! Wanna try it?” 

“Hmm… only for a few minutes. I must go listen to Blooky’s new music.”

Gently you pulled at his arm and gracefully he followed you. Mettaton sat with a soft thud next to Papyrus and with not nearly the same amount grace you plopped down next to Sans. The shorter skeleton brought out a hand to steady you before you tipped backwards, “you alright there?” he chuckled. 

“Totally!” you huffed and grabbed your drink again, “cheers!” he gladly obliged and clinked his drink with yours. You could tell that he was amused by your drunken state and thankfully because of your intoxicated mind, you didn’t mind one bit. Quite the opposite. You wanted to always see him smile whenever he looked at you. That sparked an idea and you pulled out your phone, “You know what Sans?” You sounded so matter-a-factly that he tilted his head, “we literally have no decent or cute photos together! Not even a selfie!” 

“Is that so?” he laughed. 

“Yes! C’mere!” you put an arm around his shoulder and he scooted closer, laughing with a look that continued to be baffled by your current state, “remember to take a skele-ton of photos then. Wouldn’t want to you wake up with nothing to remember the night by.” 

“Not a chance. I can proudly announce that I have never had a blackout!” You brought up your camera and pulled Sans close, taking a relatively normal photo where you simply smiled, “daww’” you continued snapping away and demanding silly photos where you pulled a ton of faces, double chins and peace signs and on a whim you ended up kissing the top of Sans’s head. You couldn’t stop laughing at the look of surprise on his face and how you managed to capture it so perfectly. He shoved a hand in your face when you set it as your background and desperately tried to make you stop laughing.  

“If you two lovebirds are done, the rest of us are going dancing. Care to move your asses?!” Undyne shouted and forcefully pulled you up. “We’re not lovebirds!” you resisted but she merely grinned, “Whatever you say! You coming shortie?” 

Sans lifted a brow, “I suppose.” You wriggled yourself free from Undyne’s grip, offered a hand to Sans and pulled him up, “lead the way, Tower of Terror.” You realized that you were indeed taller than Sans. He reached just a bit above your shoulders which, you discovered, was a perfect height to rest your elbows on his shoulders. Something he immediately forbid.

The dance floor was simply on fire. You had never seen Blooky so happy and in tune with himself before. The guests had filled up the dance room and the bar was buzzing with activity. Once in awhile a guest would come up and suggest a song and Blooky would flawlessly mix it with the former so you never once noticed when the songs changed. You were about to head over to the bar when Sans put a hand on your shoulder, “maybe wait a bit?” you puffed out your chest, but you admittedly had to agree that it was time to take a break from the alcohol. 

_ Take a look around the room, _

Hold up.

_ Love comes wearing disguises,  _

Hold the fuck up.

“SANS!” you suddenly exclaimed, “This is the best song!” The poor skeleton looked surprised as ever and ended up bursting with laughter as he watched you sprint into the middle of the room. You couldn’t help yourself when Blooky played one of your favourite songs ‘My Type’ by Saint Motel.   
“How do you know this one?!” you shouted over the crowd and Blooky timidly replied, “Alphys showed it to me.” Oh man you remember playing it in to her in your apartment, she must have sent it on to Blooky! Bless you Alphys. “Fantastic!” you smiled and tried to recall the few Swing classes you once took with a friend. You could only remember a few basic steps, but they were easy to add on to. So far so good. Once finding the beat of the song you made your way over to Papyrus who was occupying a full square meter. He pulled off some moves you were pretty sure that no man could ever recreate and your dance classes were quickly forgotten as you moved in the most silly ways. You shouted the lyrics, and thankfully you were barely audible as it wasn’t exactly pretty. Papyrus offered a hand and you gladly took it. Putting your fingertips on his shoulder (darn his height) and he his hand on your back, he lead you into a rhythm of jitterbug and lead you like a master. How he had ever learned to dance like this you didn’t know, but your guess was Mettaton.  

You could hear Undyne clapping to the rhythm and be audible impressed. Pap gently eased you into the dance, reminding you to look ahead and swing your arm forth so he could grab it, and quickly he pulled your out and pressed his palm against yours, kicking his leg out to one side. You caught on and switched side, mimicking his move until he spun you around and pulled you in again. You couldn’t remember the last time you had had so much fun dancing and felt so comfortable at the same time. You even felt like you might look kinda cool.

Alphys shrieked as she watched you and that was the cue for Mettaton to step in and take over, “can I borrow your partner, deary?”    
you chuckled, “he’s all yours” and saluted him. They waited for the song to change before immediately jumping into a very practised dance together. Yup. Papyrus definitely got it from Mettaton. 

You continued dancing by yourself and joined Undyne, Alphys, Dogamy and Dogerassa’s circle. You switched stepping into it to show off your moves, albeit your moves were nothing but dumb poses you could remember from tv-shows and mostly from Johnny Bravo. “Where’s Sans?” you asked as you couldn’t recall seeing him on the dancefloor and Alphys pointed to the skeleton standing in a lone corner with Asgore and chatting away, “T-they’re over there being boring!” 

“Not anymore!” you grinned and made your way over there. 

Placing a firm hand on Sans’s shoulder he looked successfully startled. You greeted Asgore, “Hello Asgore! If you don’t mind, I’m going to drag this skeleton on to the dancefloor and make him dance with me!” Asgore laughed a deep, rumbling belly laugh, “No mind at all. I will go mingle with the other’s.” 

“Uh-” Sans tried to interrupt.

“Great! I’ll see you later tonight!” Without asking you pulled Sans by the arm into the crowd, “Kid no-” he finally sputtered out, “I have two left feet and a couple more stashed away.” 

“Hah! As if I’m any better.” 

“I saw you dancing with Paps earlier, that was pretty damn good.”

“He’s a pretty damn good lead.”

“Kid. I can’t dance.”

“Doesn’t mean you won’t do it.”

He deadpanned and glared at you. Your eyes grew wide and watery , “pweaaaseeee?” Sans rolled his eyes as heavily as he could “Oh my god, you’re unbearable” and placed his hands on you waist and shoulder, looking anything but comfortable. Triumphantly you laughed and put your hands on his shoulders, trying to get into the song. It was a pretty upbeat song so you ended up mostly releasing yourself from his grip but keeping his right hand on your waist, and your right on his shoulder.    
Bad my ass, you thought to yourself. He was decent and a quick learner. The moment that thought passed you, he stepped on your foot and pushed away, “See! I’m awful!” he was about to escape when you pulled his wrist, “I’ve had terrible dance partners and trust me, you’re doing pretty good!!” You took the lead and pulled him by the waist and stepped to the rhythm, “See? Elegant like an elephant princess.”

Sans laughed before shrugging himself free and mirroring your grip. Holding you by the hand he pushed you out before pulling you in with a spin, holding your torso against his chest and keeping his head close to yours. Quickly you were spun out again and dragged back where he switched his hand to your waist and held you close, following the slow beat of the new song. Papyrus stood close enough for you to see him give you two big thumbs up and your cheeks flushed with laughter. 

You continued to grow more bold and as the beat of the drums picked pace, so did you. You bumped into each other (a lot), but most importantly you were having fun. You didn’t know how long you had been dancing but eventually you had to pull away as the heat was getting too much and drops of sweat was falling down your chest, “Hey! Wanna go outside and get some fresh air?” 

Sans was practically panting, his eyes low before they met yours, “yes please.” On the way out you went by the bar and found Grillby attending it along with the Nice Cream Guy. He had cooked up a whole bunch of snacks and drinks and with a neon drink in hand and a plate of hand bites, you thanked Grillby and walked outside. It was only when you stepped out that you saw that Sans hadn’t come along. You didn’t manage to give it much thought as a large snowflake landed on your nose and distracted you. It stayed still while you tried to blow it off as both your hands were occupied, but it was only when a white hand poked it away that you were free. “Thanks!” you chirped and Sans threw your coat over your shoulders, “you’ll catch a cold if you’re not careful. The snow will chill you straight to the bone.” He winked, causing you to chuckle. 

“Do you want some?”

“Don’t mind if I do.” he grabbed a few pieces and slowly munched away as you finished your drink. It tasted sour and was incredibly fresh.

The air filled with comfortable silence. As you watched nothing and everything, you enjoyed the fresh air as it sobered you up a bit. There was something incredibly stoic about this moment. Watching the thick fall of snow while listening to the buzzing of the guests, while there was no exchange of words between you and Sans made you feel content. You had company that made you feel comfortable with the silence, while still being able to hear the fun from the library. You could hear the faint change of music as it quieted down with the screech of a microphone and Toriel’s voice overtook. Must be her ‘we did it guys’ speech. Briefly you wondered if you were supposed to be there or if she’d rather just do this herself. You handed the plate to Sans to wiggle your arms through your jacket, and Sans watched you in deep thought. 

The short skeleton began to lean back and forth on his feet, sighing deeply while watching you. He caught your eye and he opened his mouth, seemingly about to ask a question before he closed it again. “Hm? Something up?” you asked, and Sans immediately let out a breath, “Well… I was wondering if you would be up for some Christmas shopping? I’m terrible at shopping and I’d like to check out the stores in your town without getting ‘caught’” 

“That sounds fun! Like this week or something?.”

“I was thinking Friday? We move into the new apartments Saturday evening”

“Yes! That’s a deal! After we’re done we could combine it with some gaming and junk food?”

Sans’s smile broadened “Definitely”

“Let’s get back inside! I still need to challenge Undyne to a drinking game!” You slipped the Jacket off and took the plate back from Sans who burst out with a snort, “I’m not carrying you home when Undyne the UNDYING beats you.”

“Oh boy, you have yet to see me drink.” 

Sans had to pick up his jaw from the floor when you won. He had never seen Undyne this slammed. Usually she could drink like a fish (pun fully intended) but today he saw a human overtake her with a smile like a proud pissed Viking. Undyne took her last shot before pointing a finger at you whispering “You!!! Yooouuuuuuuuu……….” before she promptly face planted unto the table. Sans could barely stop laughing. 

You left as the final guests and helped Undyne up on the back of RG01 to send her home with Alphys. They were both staying in the lab for the night, meanwhile you would stay with the brothers. You weren’t really in any better state yourself, but your confidence was through the roof. Not even your wobbly feet could convince you that you couldn’t walk right now. You looped arms with Papyrus all the way home, singing christmas carols and interlacing your legs as you strutted ahead. Sans kept a distance to not get hit or accidentally pushed over, but couldn’t keep his fit of giggles down.   
  
He was sober enough to clear the path for you and his brother and opened the door to the house. It was about five in the morning when you let yourself fall down on the couch with a less than elegant flop. Papyrus looked at you for one second before declaring that it was an excellent idea and did exactly the same. You barely managed to move out of the way to make room for him and scooted close once he was laying down. Sans walked out of his shoes, let his cardigan fall off behind and was about to unbutton his pants before he caught himself doing it in front of you. He stood silent for a second before groaning, “C’mon bruh… yah god yuh awn behd”  he mumbled and tried once to pull his brother off the bed and as that clearly didn’t work he shrugged, jumped up and shimmied in between the two of you and closed his eyes. 

You laughed at the sight and was just too happy, your vision too blurry and mind to hazy to care. You flopped your arm over Sans and draped your top leg over both of them. All three of you would probably regret it in the morning with the amount of back pain this would cause, but there was not enough care in the world to change it.   
  
“Goodnight boys…” you mumbled before falling into a deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter three has now been fully re-written and doubled in length :'D I hope you like it!


	4. Christmas shopping

You were right about the back pain. It was a loud snore that woke you up but the cold and pain that kept you awake. You saw that Papyrus and you were still a tangled mess and that he had stolen most of the blankets, but Sans had disappeared from the bundle of limbs. Papyrus would have been adorable if it wasn’t because you suddenly needed a high degree of ninja skills to get off the couch, but somehow you managed to slip out of his grip and stumble onto the floor just to discover the next painful thing; your hangover.

Sans heard you getting up and poked his head out from the kitchen where he was sitting on the counter, holding a glass of water between his hands, “Morning fuzzball” he gestured to the nest that was supposed to be your hair, “how are you feeling?”

“Te-fucking-riffic.” You groaned and Sans chuckled in response. He didn’t look too good either and it gave you some satisfaction that skeletons got hangovers as well. His usual grin had sunken a great deal, “I got some aspirins ready for you.”

“You’re the best” you gave a weak smile and slumped your way into the kitchen, concentrating as hard as you could on not throwing up and walking straight at the same time. Downing the aspirins with a glass of water, you turned to Sans and sat down on a chair. 

“Undyne and Alphys are coming over later right?” You murmured and rested your head on the dinner table. Sans nodded lightly, as if, if he moved too much he might topple over.   
“You look like you’re ready to spill your guts” you commented with a tired grin, looking like a dork with the way your face was squished on the table.

“If I had any, I would.” Sans huffed out a weak laugh.

You grinned and closed your eyes, damning whoever was spinning the world so fast around you. Usually, your hangovers were quite mild, but it had been about 4 months since your last party, so you were “out of training.” I’m so sorry my precious liver, you thought to yourself.

A soft knock on the door stole your attention. Sans unlocked the door with a wave of his hand, “Handy” you commented on his use of magic before Undyne and Alphys stepped in. You would have laughed if it didn’t spin your head too much, as Undyne practically crawled in on the floor.

“H-hey everybody.” Alphys walked in next to her girlfriend. The scientist was the only monster who was without a hangover since she didn’t enjoy drinking. Lucky bastard.

“Heeey…” you and Sans mumbled, only to be shushed by Undyne, “Not. So. Loud.” She groaned and slumped over to the couch, lied down next to Papyrus and rolled into the blankets. Papyrus didn’t seem to mind and the image was both endearing and pathetic, causing you to snort. “I am so taking a photo of this.”

“oh, oh! Send it to me!” Alphys whispered as you pulled out your phone and snapped away, “Will do!”   
Scrolling through the photos you giggled to yourself until you scrolled a little too far, ending up at the photos from the party. You couldn’t even remember taking half of these. There was a particularly sweet one of Mettaton and Papyrus dancing tango together and Undyne making kissy faces and heart signs behind them, how on earth could you not remember that moment? Another one depicted Aaron flexing for the camera, and in the next picture he had grabbed you in for  a selfie, only to be pushed out of the frame by Sans who held up a peace sign.

Alphys was now sitting next to you and looking through the pictures with you, pointing out the funny ones.  
One, in particular, made you go ‘oooh!’ and Alphys giggled. Sans who had been watching you flip through the photos grinned, “What’s so funny?”

“this one; your face is brilliant” you smiled and turned the phone for him to see. It was a picture of when you had kissed him on the top of his head and he looked like a deer in headlights. Upon seeing the photo, he mimicked that same expression and fumbled with his words, “Oh uh- welp. What can I say? You caught me off guard.”

With a chuckle you returned your face to the cold surface of the table, “I’ll have to do that more often” you murmured and edited the photo to black and white to put it as your locked background. For the other background, you put in the photo of Papyrus and Mettaton, knowing that both of those photos would you cheer you up whenever you turned it on.

“We should probably wake those two up and get back to your apartment” Alphys suggested. Sans jumped off the counter, looking a little more awake then he did an hour ago, “I’m on it.” With hands in his pockets, he slumped his way over to the couch and shook his brother's shoulder lightly, “get up bro. It’s surface time.”

Papyrus groaned and dug his face into a pillow. “C’mon Pap. Who is going to teach the human how to make spaghetti, if you’re not there?” This seemed to wake him up a bit and he tried to sit up, wobbling as he did and causing Undyne to complain with heavy swearing that definitely was not PG 13.

It took another 20 minutes before you all managed to get dressed and drag yourself out of the house, but the moment you could smell the fresh cold air of Snowdin, you slowly sobered up. Walking next to Alphys you chatted about the night before and asked her how it was to stay at the gym for the night.  
“It was quite nice actually!” Alphys replied, “It was us, Mettaton and Napstablook, and a few others from Hotland. Most of the other monsters went home.”

The short trip back to your apartment was all you needed to clear your head, and you could audibly hear Papyrus getting rid of his hangover as well, as his voice grew louder. Undyne was not so fortunate and kept complaining about the noise, mostly grumbling at the birds and the wind for rustling the trees around her. The trip was too short, and before you knew it, you were hugging your friends goodbye and when you reached Sans, he held your wrist before you could let go, “Remember Christmas shopping tomorrow.”

Smiling at the prospect of seeing them so soon, you nodded, “Of course! I know the perfect place where we won’t be bothered by townsfolk that much. We’ll walk there through the forest.”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you then” he gave your wrist a short squeeze before letting it go and walked up the stairs to your- well, almost their apartment. You were shortly reminded that you seriously needed to start on getting an education again or get a job, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to pay your rent anymore. Your savings only lasted for another two months, but you didn’t want to bother your friends with that.

On the way home, you put on your favourite music to make time pass faster. You imagined vividly how the world around you went along to the beat of the song you were listening to; how a push of your hand could force the ground to move and a bump with your hip would blow the trees down. You probably looked pretty stupid to anyone walking by as you tried hard to keep in your movements, and once in a while you would get caught by the moment and swing out an arm and hit a bush without meaning to.

At home, your father stood in the kitchen and asked how the party had been, and you started out telling about it very briefly, “it was nice! Saw a lot of friends and met some new ones.” But then you couldn’t hold back and the more you told, the more you saw your father go into a numb series of answers of ‘hmm’ and ‘yes yes’, not really listening anymore, but still happy on your behalf. You had missed this. And it did fill you with some warmth that you parents were so accustomed to monsters already that you might as well have been talking about the weather; that’s how un-phased he was by your story. “I’m going out Christmas shopping with them tomorrow,” you quickly mentioned, “We’ll go to the old part of town where it’s less crowded”

“Sounds like a good idea, just be careful. Want me to drive you there?”

“Nah, we’ll walk through the forest, but thanks!”

After your recap you went for a quick shower to wash away the smell of smoke and alcohol, brushed your teeth thoroughly and jumped into your pyjamas. You were longing for your bed, and the rest of the day consisted of browsing through various sites, looking at silly videos and gathering energy for tomorrow. It was funny how whenever you got into a rhythm of being constantly active every single day, having a day with no work made you stressed and it could take you weeks to properly calm down again. Thus, you were starting to feel restless and picked up your sketchbook from the table and an ink pen to doodle, but after several long minutes you were still staring at a blank page. It had been ages since you had last drawn anything, it almost felt like you had forgotten how to put the pen to the paper, but more important- what the hell were you going to draw?

You hadn’t drawn a single image when you were in the underground, despite art being your passion, as there simply hadn’t been any time to sit down and properly draw. You hadn’t brought your sketchbook either for that matter. Not even when you returned to the surface had there been time to sit down and just let yourself be engulfed by the pen. And now, when you finally had a few hours to spare, your mind was blank. Welp that was just typical wasn’t it?

As you couldn’t find anything to draw, you looked through your photos instead. That one with Mettaton and papyrus was still rather amazing. There was a sweet one of you and Alphys singing along to some random song- you guessed that Undyne must have taken the photo. And just like that, you knew what to do, and began to doodle your friends. It was surprisingly easy to stylize your monster friends as they all looked so unique and had the most amazing shapes and sizes, personalities and stories to tell. In fact, you ended up with four pages of just them, and you weren’t sure whether or not you wanted to show it to them- especially not Sans as one of the pages consisted only of him, three of the images depicting him smoking. Well, what could you say? It had looked pretty damn cool.

In the evening, your father had prepared a simple dinner for you and your mother as she returned home from work. Together you enjoyed a comedy movie in the living room and halfway through it, your eyelids were very close to giving up staying open. It was quite ironic that when you were finally resting in your bed an hour later, your eyes were as wide as teacups and not even close to falling in, and you thought about all the places you were going to the show the others tomorrow. Eventually, you fell asleep from exhaustion. 

\---

You hated waking up because of a phone call or message, or from the horrendous noise of your alarm clock, but when you woke up at 9 am to a message from Sans, you didn’t mind; _‘Morning, Fuzzball. Hope you’re ready for the sansational day that I promised you. ’_

It was the first time in a long time that you were this quick to get out of bed, to shower and dress into clean clothes. Your breakfast was quite ‘anime’ this morning as you shoved a piece of bread into your mouth while putting on your shoes and your jacket, and waved your parents goodbye out the door, rushing to your apartment.

When you arrived, Sans was already standing outside waiting for you, wearing a scarf covering his mouth and a beanie covering most of his skull except for the eyes. Giving him a quick hug you smiled, “Where are the others?”

He looked bewildered for a moment before turning his eyes away from you, “Couldn’t come. Undyne and Alphys are packing down the lab and Papyrus offered to help. They’ll help the other villagers after that”

“Oh- what about you then?” You frowned, “If you want to help, we can go do that instead?”

“Nah, I’ll help them tomorrow. Besides, I have a promise with you to keep, don’t I?”

You smiled, feeling selfishly relieved that he still wanted to go into town. “Without the others, you can help me pick out presents for them a lot easier! I have a feeling that Papyrus is the ‘peeking’ type.” You chuckled and began to lead the way through the forest.

“Oh, he is. Every Christmas; it’s a nightmare trying to hide his presents from him. Thankfully he respects when they’re wrapped and only tries to shake them.”

“What if you had bought him something fragile?”

“For that exact reason, I never do” Sans grimaced and you laughed in response; “I can imagine you getting him something like a crystal figure, and he shakes it and hears the clink and his face goes from WOHOO to—Oh -FUcK-Shit-“ your face contorted from a pure happy mask to a grimace of downright fear and Sans bended over with a snort, “Yup! Exactly like that!” he managed to squeak in between laughs.

The long walk through the thick forest felt a lot shorter when it was filled with laughter, bad impressions and strange grimaces. There was only a short moment of silence when you were in the deepest part of the forest where no sound from the city could be heard, and there was only a faint glimmer of light from the old town in the distance. Following the light, you came to the beginning of an alleyway, where at the end of it the annual Christmas market was located. In this part of town, the houses were built mostly out of timber and painted in deep yellow, red and light blue colours. The tiles were black, red or beige, and the streets were made of cobblestones and wide enough for two cars to drive next to each other, although no cars were allowed to drive here.

As this wasn’t the ‘popular’ part of town, there weren't a lot of people around and Sans seemed visibly relieved by that. There was, though, plenty of small shops that had been pulled out to the streets, filled with Christmas treats in form of cookies, toffee, candy cane, marzipan, nougat, mint chips, warm chocolate with whip cream and marshmallows, mulled wine and roasted almonds.

Other shops sold Christmas decorations made of paper, glass and ceramic, and some customised them for you so you could have a Santa holding a letter with your name on.

There were booths for children to sit down and create their own Christmas hearts and stockings, and others that showed you how to make rock candy with your own choice of flavour and colour, and next to the booth were a group of singers carolling old Christmas songs. Inside the small houses which were surrounding the market, there were some private shops that were selling mostly homemade or old-fashioned toys, kitchen gear and books, and a very few had some modern technology or toys. It was like travelling back in time and enjoying a snippet of the old Christmas spirit.

Even if Snowdin was a town that seemed to enjoy Christmas all year round, Sans wasn’t any less excited. Now that you thought about it, you hadn’t seen any of these sorts of shops in Snowdin at all, and you followed next to him from booth to booth as he mostly went around to grab the free taste samples, to eat as much as he could, “God, human food is mind-blowing.”

“You have a mind to blow?” You gasped and Sans gave a dry laugh, “Ah ha ha, oh you’re so hilarious.”

“Thank you, you’re my best audience” you bowed and went over to a booth that sold cheap gold jewellery. It was that kind which eventually turned into copper and then green if you wore it for too long, but it was pretty as long as it lasted.

“You like these?” Sans walked up behind you and you nodded, “Yeah the ones with thin chains are really nice. When the gold colour wears off it doesn’t show that well.” You held three out in your gloved hands, “especially this one who has very simple pendants.” Putting the jewelry back into its place, you went to look at the other side of the booth and Sans followed quietly with you, “So you like simple stuff?”

“Depends- they easily go well with the rest of my clothes! Sometimes you need simple accessories if the rest of your wardrobe is very… busy looking” you chuckled. “I like having something dominating on my outfit and the rest to be toned down, and sometimes it’s the accessories that dominate, but mostly it’s my clothes.”

He nodded with a grin, surprisingly interested in your taste and you had to clear your throat before dragging him over the booth with mulled wine, “Have you ever tried this before?” you smiled and he shook his head with a grin, “not what I know of, but I have a feeling you’re going to show me what it is.” Smiling, you bought two glasses of mulled wine and handed one to Sans, and quickly scanning the area you found a bench to sit on. It was placed in a quiet corner with a nice view over the market, the music in earshot but far enough away to be comfortable background noise. From the first sip, Sans made a weird face, causing you to snort, but eventually he got used to it and you sat in silence to enjoy the inner heat from the drink. As you finished your drink, it began to snow again, slowing down time and deafening the sound around you, making everything seem a lot more serene.

“I didn’t know it could snow up here” Sans spoke quietly from the right side of you, his eyes fixed at the sky.

“You didn’t?” you inquired and he shook his head, “Nah… underground, we’re not taught a lot about the human world. Only about the war and nothing more, and even that is just written on the walls and not actually taught.”

“I’ll have to teach you one day then. And then you can teach me back” You smiled, “So much history has been lost because of that war.”

He nodded solemnly before jumping off the bench, “You said something about getting a present for Pap yeah?” and with a grin he took your hand and pulled you off the bench and walked into the first store, throwing his empty cup into a bin on the way.

There were so many things you could pick that you would intrigue Sans’ brother, simply because they looked strange or were old, but you settled on an old-fashioned pasta maker. It reminded you of your first meeting where he put you through a bunch of puzzles, and you hoped it would remind him of the same. It was heavy as hell, because of the fact that it was made of iron, so you had to carry it with both hands.   
  
Throughout the day, you tried to keep looking at Sans to see if he paid any specific interest to a particular object you could buy him as he honestly was the hardest one to find gifts for. You already knew what to give Alphys, but you had to order the DVDs online. For Undyne, you had found a silver necklace with a small arrow which kind of looked like her spears. For Toriel, Sans found the sweetest apron with snails on and you bought matching kitchen gear to go with it, so it was a present from you both. For Asgore, you found an assorted bag of tea, and for Mettaton and his cousin you got a couple of CDs which you thought they’d enjoy, and headphones with a rim of glitter for Mettaton specifically. For your parents, you had gotten Mickey and Minnie figurine that kissed each other when put next to one another, and for your siblings you had to order the games and books they wanted online.

Sans was tricky as hell. You didn’t know exactly what he liked- you knew he played the trombone…Haha, trom-bone. You only got that just now. But you didn’t know if he actually played it, or only knew those few incidental-music tones. He liked big sweaters and hoodies, but he had a ton of those in various colours and hardly needed more. He didn’t wear any jewellery as far as you could tell, and you didn’t know what music he listened to, what kind of shows he liked or what he actually enjoyed doing, as he just seemed to enjoy whatever his friends enjoyed.

This was a fucking drag. You’d had to wait to buy a gift for him anyway, as he’d probably find out what you were buying if you did it with him around you. Keeping an eye on him, you saw him standing by some snowmen statues that he’d lined up all nicely and then beckoned you over, whispering, “look at this-“ he snickered and spoke louder, “Hail Asgore”  
All the little snowmen repeated HAIL ASGORE!!! in tiny screechy voices and you ended up letting out a loud snort followed by something that was more like a  yell than a laugh, and you had to cover your mouth to keep your laughter down. Sans looked immensely pleased with himself and there was blue tint to his cheeks.

As the sun began to set around 4 in the evening, you walked back home to the apartment, you carrying the Pasta machine for Pap and cooking gear for Toriel, while Sans carried the rest, along with a few presents he had bought as well. He had borrowed your money for now, but you didn’t count of telling him to pay you back later as you honestly didn’t mind paying for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very slow and calm chapter to let our narrator get some time to breathe! :D The first story arc will begin in the following chapters!


	5. Moving up

You stomped your feet at the bottom of the stairs and shook your body free of snow. As wonderful as snow was, it was cold as fuck once it started melting. Rushing into the apartment, you slipped off your shoes and put the presents on the table one by one before shaking off your jacket, chanting ‘ew, ew, ew’ as you did.

Once the presents were put away safely in your closet, Sans was brewing coffee and pulling out some blankets. You put your wet clothes over a chair to dry, borrowed one of Sans’s hoodies and a pair of his large shorts and settled into the couch, “Here you go” he smiled and offered you a mug and you took one sip before squinting, “It needs nutella”

“Nutella?” Sans inquired as you were already in the kitchen, “Is that the chocolate thing that Alphys likes?”  
You pulled out an almost empty jar of nutella that stood among three other empty ones, “Evidently” you chuckled, “It’s really good and a blessing for your coffee!” With a large spoon, you dumped a chunk into your coffee and offered Sans the same, and you couldn’t blame him for looking oddly at you when he stretched out his hand and the mug for you.

Turning on your ps4, you grabbed the remote and controller and sat down next to Sans, “Just stir until it’s melted! Netflix or games?”

“Netflix. I’d love to watch something other than Back to the Future” Sans chuckled, sipping at his chocolate coffee before turning to you with awe on his face, “This. Is Brilliant.”

You got a smug smile on your lips, side eyeing Sans with a double chin, “baby, I know” causing him to snort. It took a bit of browsing and explaining of shows and movies of the ones you knew, before deciding to watch the first season of ‘Heroes’.

Sans’s hoodie was so oversized that it practically swallowed you whole, and with the blanket you were nothing but a tiny head in a bundle of cloth (and one mug). Next to you, Sans looked pretty much the same; like a happy skeleton caterpillar. A skele-pillar. Cater-ton?  
You were quite pleased with yourself that Sans seemed to genuinely like the show, and you could let your enthusiasm seep out, ‘I just love the first episode, it sets the mood and tone SO well!’ to which he would nod and put away his empty mug, ‘And the way that their powers can be seen as super ordinary and useless things and others are extreme as hell!’, as the show continued to episode 20, you had a long discussion about how humans feared the unknown, what they couldn’t understand or keep in control, and you recommended that he should watch x-men, Gattaca, twelve monkeys and metropolis, and you ended up just writing a list as you kept mentioning movie titles he admitted he would never be able to remember.

Around seven you and Sans got up to fix a quick meal for Papyrus, Undyne, and Alphys when they came back, listening to electro swing in the background as you cooked. You couldn’t help yourself but moving your head to the beat and humming along as you cut the vegetables, and you must’ve swung your arm out when a glass got knocked down and it crashed on the floor, “Oh shit-!”

Sans jumped from the sudden crash and saw you picking up the pieces, “What happened?”. You shook your head, “Sorry about that! I’m just clumsy- ow!” speaking of the sun, a shard cut your hand and you had to drop the pieces, “typical!” you hissed and straightened yourself up, holding a thumb over the cut.

“Let me get the shards, I can’t get cut” Sans quite efficiently dumped the shards into the biggest piece of the glass and threw it out, “show me your hand,” carefully he reached out to take your hand and looked at the cut, holding your hand as if it was about to break. You smiled and pulled your hand out of his to turn on the water, “It’s a shallow cut, I just need to wash it and put on some band-aids” it stung a bit, but it was nothing that water couldn’t clean.   
“Why is it that humans… bleed?” Sans asked curiously with a bit of concern in his voice, “It happened in the underground as well, whenever you got hurt. It’s the same colour as your soul.”

“Well-“ shit, you got C in biology, but this should be easy enough to explain. Grabbing your medicine box from the top shelf you looked for the band-aids, “Alphys explained to me something about the humans having more material than monsters, yeah? We have muscles, nerves, skin and other stuff, and to keep all  of that stuff running, our heart pumps out blood to keep our bodies alive.” That sounded about right.

“Oh.” Sans frowned. “So when you bleed-?”

You frowned, “It’s our way of showing we’ve been injured I suppose. If we loose too much blood, we die. But blood also flows out to dry up and create a shield to stop the blood from flowing… on smaller injuries at least.” Sans had a small look of panic in his eyes, “I won’t die from a small cut like this!” you quickly intervened with his worry, “No one in the underground hurt me badly enough either, I mean- I got a scar from Undyne, but nothing was ever deadly. Except for Flowey, but he doesn’t count.” You chuckled, but Sans didn’t seem exactly humoured.

“What _is_ deadly then?” Sans kept asking, his eyes never once leaving yours.

You frowned and sighed to yourself, “Quite a few things, but humans are sturdy,” you looked away from Sans to put away the medical box and had a flash of black pass over your eyes, but it was so short that it could have been a weird shadow. “You have your magic to protect you, and humans have our lovely fleshy prisons around our skeletons!” your dangled your arms to demonstrate and patted your stomach, finally making Sans laugh.

A knock on the door pulled you both out of the conversation and the three remaining roommates walked in, exhausted from the days work but loud as ever. You finished up the salad and put it in a bowl to put on the dinner table, and Sans followed with rice and chicken. Undyne and Papyrus loudly told about how hard it had been to pack down Alphy’s lab, and that they afterwards had proceeded to help the rest of the villagers to get ready to move up to the surface. It took some extra time to make everybody understand the procedure of the plans to move the monsters out in teams, and give them maps and plans over which house or apartment they were going to live in.

A few hours later, your dad came to pick you up and you had to put your jacket over the bag of presents to make sure neither Undyne nor Papyrus would suddenly peek into the bag. “I’ll see you all tomorrow for the big move!” You left your clothes at the apartment, as you were moving into it in a few days anyway, and kept Sans’ clothes on.

What normally felt like it took hours, suddenly only took a few minutes; you were home, in bed and sleeping before you knew it. It had been a long and cosy day, and despite how long tomorrow would be, you looked forward to it.

You had planned breakfast with your friends at your parent’s house and Toriel joined in. They had already packed down their stuff in the apartment and brought it with them to your place. It was a slow morning, but something you did take notice of was how Undyne was practically sitting on her hands throughout the entire breakfast, and you remembered how you had told stories about how your mother was very particular about her stuff, and she was quite obviously afraid of accidentally breaking them. It was endearing to watch this broad and loud woman, keeping herself this contained for your sake.

Moving the entire underground from Mt. Ebott would take about a week or so, to make sure it didn’t draw too much attention. Large trucks came to Mt. Ebott to get loaded with the belongings of the monsters and it quietly drove there through the forest, with the monsters walking behind, cheerful and talking to each other. Your two siblings had offered to help, and the first hour or so they were incredibly withheld. They hadn’t had the same “luxury” as your parents to meet your friends before and get to know them, at least not as much, but hard work brought people together faster than idle talking.

Your siblings were bigger and stronger than you and carried most of the heavy stuff into the houses for the smaller monsters while you carried all the stuff that you had to be careful with (which you still thought was a bad idea) and helped as many as you could. You mostly focused on the people you did know, as you were still relatively shy.

At noon, there was a picnic in the gym hall next to the frozen football field, which was an old field that hadn’t been taken care of for the last five years or so, so the now frozen grass reached your knees. In the hall, there weren't enough seats or tables for all the monsters so blankets and pillows would have to do, which almost made it feel like a winter picnic. There were large windows on the sides of the gym hall, which gave a wonderful outdoorsy feel to the place. As withheld as your siblings had been to begin with, it was positively delightful to see them open up so easily and any barrier that might have been between them and your friends had completely broken down.

After lunch, the moving continued and you spend a majority of your time in Undyne and Alphys’ house, figuring out how to merge their two very different lifestyles into one without separating them into two different homes. The piano was the biggest part of this, as it was right in the middle of the separation of the beginning of the lab and the entire living room, pulling the two rooms together. They had gotten the biggest house on the block, as Alphys needed the space for her lab. There was still a ton of boxes left to unpack, but the important stuff such as their bed, most of the kitchen and the major lab stuff had been brought out.

“Everything should be unpacked by next weekend!” Undyne grinned widely at you, “You’re coming back tomorrow right? Wanna stay over tonight and have a sleepover?”   
“Yeah!” You smiled and Undyne gave you a thumbs up, “Good! Now go get the skelebros, we’re having a barbeque at the gym at the same spot”.

You were on your way out the door when Alphys walked over to give you a bag full of stuff, “This is theirs, we accidentally packed it down with our stuff!” you nodded, “I’ll bring it to them. See you in a bit!” You quickly went to their house which was only down the road and to the left, about 5 minutes away.

This was an old part of town, with wrecked sidewalks, a ton of graffiti and burned bins and cars, broken street lamps and former belongings thrown on the ground, but it was also almost completely empty. There were only a few elderly people living here, and the Prime Minister said there was no need to worry about them, as he had taken care of it, and you could only trust him on that- whatever taking care of it meant.   
Despite how trashed the area was, the atmosphere still seemed ‘friendly’. The houses were all one or two story buildings with red tiles and yellow or red walls, small front yards and lots of small (soon to be) privately owned boutiques and food shops. It needed a big makeover, but with how the sun was setting and giving everything a warm yellow glow, it seemed friendly and welcoming.

At the skeleton brothers’ house, you could see through the window that Papyrus was rushing back and forth from one side of the house to the other. The door was left wide open so you knocked on the doorframe as you entered, “Hey you two! I got some stuff for you.” Sans got up from the couch where he was taking a break, out of how many breaks you didn’t know, “Just give it here” he smiled and took the bag from you, only to put it on the floor next to the other unopened boxes and bags. “SANS! At least open it and take some stuff out!!” Papyrus shouted as he was fixing up the kitchen. Sans did as he was told, literally as told, and opened the bag to take out a plate and put it on the floor.

“SANS. NOT ON THE FLOOR. IN IT’S PROPER PLACE!!!”

You covered your mouth with your sleeve to hide your laughter and Sans winked at you before carrying the plate to the kitchen. “There’s a barbeque in a few minutes, the same spot where we had lunch!” you managed to say between chuckles.

“Sounds good!” Sans waltzed over to you with hands in his pockets while Papyrus angrily threw away his apron, completely covered in dirt and dust from cleaning out the place whereas Sans barely had a dust bunny on him.   
Papyrus mood quickly improved when you reached the gym and the smell of food filled the air. The next team to move in came twenty minutes into dinner and only got to put their boxes into their houses before joining the meal.

You were holding a warm plate in your lap when someone spoke next to you “Will you be going home after this?” Sans joined you on the floor with Alphys, and you stuffed yourself incredibly ungracefully with a hot dog and tried to swallow it to reply but ended up coughing instead, “Whoah no need to kill yourself over it!” Sans laughed.   
“Sorry- not used to swallowing something that big-…” you frowned at how incredibly wrong it sounded and grimaced and Sans stared at you for a good 10 seconds before bending over snorting and you could hear Alphys joining. “Whenever you’re both done laughing at my cock metaphor-“Sans laughed even louder, “-I’ll be staying at Undyne and Alphys’ place tonight!”

He gave a thumbs up, still stifling his laughter, “Okay it wasn’t _that_ funny” you chuckled and he shook his head. “No, but your expression was priceless. And your boldness.”   
Alphys had to rub her face in an attempt to get rid of her blush, “Did you remember to text your parents?” You hit yourself on your forehead and pulled out your phone, “Right- thanks for reminding me!” you stuffed your face with a cookie and texted your mom _‘Hey! I’ll be staying at Undyne and Alphy’s place tonight since I’m helping out tomorrow anyway.’_

Your mom texted a few minutes after; _‘Alright, what about your siblings?’_

Getting up on your feet you murmured, ‘I’ll be back in a bit’ to Alphys and Sans and walked over to your siblings who stood in a group of young monsters and chatted. The oldest pulled you in by the neck and ruffled your hair, “What’s up?” you managed to poke them in the side and release yourself with a huff.   
“Mom asks if you’re staying here or going home?”

“Gotta’ go home. Got work in the morning. I’m leaving in a few minutes actually” The monsters frowned, “Me too” the other added. You gave a thumbs up “I’ll tell mom. I’ll see you later then.” They pulled you in for a quick hug before waving as you walked back to Alphys and texted your mom _, ‘They’re going home : )’_ who replied, _‘Okay then! Sleep well when you get that far. Hug’_

As the dinner came to an ending and everybody were cleaning up, you were about to go out the door with Undyne and Alphys when Toriel beckoned you over. “I’m sorry for taking your time, it won’t be long.” You smiled and told her that it was fine. You wondered if she was going to tell you something about your future meetings with countless of more ministers or other important people, but that wasn’t the case at all. She took in a breath before asking, “I was wondering: what about you, dear?”

“About me?”

“Will you move to this part of town as well?” She smiled and fuck you felt the guilt rise in you. She had that look of hope in her eyes you knew that you couldn’t fulfil. You frowned, and that was already enough of an answer as her smile dropped, but before she could speak you cut in, “I can’t, Toriel. I have a place to live already… “

“I know that. I simply thought that... you might be interested in giving it up to live here instead.”

“Yeah, uhm… in some way I want to but, I really like it where I already am… and it’s not so far away, yeah? Only an hour from where I live and two hours from the mountain, and then the city is even closer- I mean-“ you saw the frown on her face, you bit your lip and rephrased yourself, “Thank you for asking Toriel, really. Maybe I’ll move here someday, but for now I want to stay where I am…”

“You don’t need to say that to make me happy, dear. I understand. I’m just going to miss having you around. We all will” She spoke; from her voice you could hear that she was being honest. She put her large hand on your shoulder and chuckled, “You, living with your parents for the past few months, made me realize that.”

You couldn’t help yourself but feel that she was trying to make you feel guilty on purpose, and rather than being comforted you felt angry and nodded, your lips still tightened.

“I won’t keep you. Thank you for listening to me” she gave your shoulder a squeeze before letting you go, “Night Toriel” you waved at her and caught up to Alphys.

At Alphys and Undyne’s home, the sun had already set hours ago and you were in your pyjamas on their large couch in a mess of boxes and paper, the tv was set on some mindless program that you were barely watching.  
Alphys had brought some ice cream from the underground and Undyne had made tea for you all, except Alphys who enjoyed a soda on her own. You were still thinking about what Toriel said, and probably put more thought into than you should, but the way she had phrased herself was really bothering you. Who the hell was she to think that she could put that burden on you?   
Okay so it was only about where you should live, but depending on where you lived, your focus would be on the people in that area, and she was asking you to put your focus on the monsters instead of family and the entire life you’ve had on the surface for the past 22 years. Was it selfish of you to pick them instead of your new friends? Was it selfish of you to pick some sense of security of comfort instead of this new adventure? You wanted to hang out with your childhood friend, your friends from school, your former colleagues, find out what they were doing, how they felt about your absence, to go out with them in town, to be silly and normal and carefree once more. But every time you thought that; you remembered the job you had. You were _the_ person who was the link between these two worlds, a world that you barely understood. You were pretty sure you’ve heard someone say something about monsters being everywhere underground on earth, but maybe that had only been a rumour? But they couldn’t possibly only live in Mt. Ebott right?   
You had your monster friends’ lives, security, their…everything… to take care off. You’ve put them first for so many months, and you felt selfish for thinking that maybe you shouldn’t anymore. Once they had settled in into this part of town, you so desperately wanted to go back to what you had before just for a little while, make cosplays, draw, go to school, have a job…

“Are you alright?” Alphys put a hand on your shoulder and you looked up from the ground, not realizing that you had been looking down the entire time. They were both frowning at you and fuck that only made it worse. They worried about you, and you just thought about prioritizing other people before them, as if they were objects to shuffle around on a to-do list.

“Yeah… Yeah I’m alright, just tired…” you frowned, a little black flash went before your eyes like a blink, but Undyne talked before you could react, “You’re the worst liar in the world”. You chuckled in response, “yeah.”

“Did Toriel say something?” Alphys asked quietly, “You seemed upset when you left.”

It would be mean to keep it from them wouldn’t it? They were your friends, maybe it was time to treat them openly as such, and put your burdens on them without feeling like shit about it, after all- you’d take their burdens with open arms. “Yeah, she did… she just asked something quite big of me. I don’t know, it felt like she wanted me to feel guilty.” There we go, it was said. It was out there. Would they think less of you now? You were pretty sure you had taken Toriel’s words too hard and twisted them into something they were not, but it still bothered you.

Alphys frowned, not wanting to interrupt and allowed you to keep speaking; “She asked me if I wanted to move here. I said no, or- at least not for now, because I have a place already-” Undyne nodded, which encouraged you to keep going with a stronger voice, “but then she put her hand on me and said that ‘I understand’, but that she and everybody else just missed me a lot, but oh well it’s fine and it’s my choice.” Your anger was blossoming again, “I just- if she understood, why the heck would she then throw that bomb of guilt on me?”

Undyne was about to shout “I think that-!” but Alphys put a finger to her mouth, “-She’s probably lonely… I-I mean, it’s not totally fair how she phrased herself, but I don’t think it was on purpose.”

“I know! Really I know, and I get her, and I get that she has been living in the ruins for god knows how long, but I’ve only known her for a couple of months, and I feel like she wants me to choose between humans or monsters!”

“No! No no no, she doesn’t want that!” Alphys frowned and took your hand, “Of all the monsters, she’s the one that fights the hardest for the humans, and for that reason, I think she really hoped you would stay. She really cares about you… what she said- well… wasn’t perhaps that well-spoken, but she’s only a monster, she’s not perfect.”

You frowned, still rather angry but took in a deep breath anyway. Undyne leaned over, “Hey. Stay in your apartment alright? Don’t feel bad for doing that! It’s not like you’re moving to, I dunno- the moon!” she patted your back harshly and you groaned, but Undyne merely chuckled, “She needs some time to adjust herself just like the rest of us!”

“Y-yeah!” Alphys smiled, “and just talk to her about it, if it still bothers you, I’m sure she’ll understand”

That was all you needed to hear. Some acceptance and understanding and you could relax again. For now, you felt okay and you nodded, “I don’t think I need to talk to her about it... I mean, if she does something like it again, then I will, but like you said- I think I’m just overthinking what she said” you hoped and leaned your head on top of Alphys, “Thanks you two” you felt Undyne lean her head on top of yours and there was a bit of silence before she spoke, “…Leaning your head like this….this is a friendship thing right?” and you and Alphys let out a laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, critique and comments are more than welcome! I love to read everything you have to say, it encourages me to keep going and leaves me giddy for hours <33 If you have any ideas on how it should proceed or anything you think might fit in or should be added, just send a message my way! 
> 
>  
> 
> ps: you should all try to dump a spoonful of nutella in your coffee: it's heaven.


	6. Settling in

Like a hand had been kept over your mouth, you woke up with a gasp; feeling like you had to re-learn how to breathe. Lying frozen on the mattress next to Undyne and Alphys, you stared up at the ceiling as you tried to remember what woke you up.   
Nothing. You couldn’t remember a thing. Well, whatever it was, it had left you feeling uncomfortable and claustrophobic. Sitting up you reached for your glass of water and downed the whole thing before getting out of bed. The sun was rising, and during the night, a thick layer of new snow had fallen upon the old town, making everything seem much brighter and inviting than usual.

Looking at Alphys and Undyne, you guessed that they would be sleeping for a couple of hours more so you grabbed your phone, your duvet and sat in a nearby chair to browse the net. Nothing interesting had happened during the night besides a few updates on tumblr that caught your eye; fanart of tv-shows and some cosy food pictures. One of your old friends, Matilde, from high school, had written good morning to you, and expressed how she hoped to see you soon. It made you feel guilty as hell.

You had pretty much been avoiding your human friends ever since you resurfaced, not knowing how to start any conversations with them or where to find any extra space in your head for more people in your life. You wanted to contact and inform them on what was happening, but you simply couldn’t. Who on earth would believe your story about the monsters unless they actually saw them? And it wasn’t like you could drag one of the monsters with you to every single meet-up with old friends. No, if you decided to meet up with them again, you’d have to continue acting as if you had amnesia. It would be the easiest way for now, and then they could get the truth once the monsters were allowed to live in the city anyway, just like the Prime Minister had decided.

 

After half an hour, the pair was still sleeping and you became restless from waiting and decided to make breakfast. Maybe the smell would be a nice way for them to wake up, you thought to yourself.

In the kitchen, where only the essentials had been unpacked, you put in a single ear-bud in your right ear and put on some up-beat music. In a matter of minutes you were whisking together a mix for pancakes with orange peel and juice in, extra vanilla and chocolate chips. On the side you fried some bacon and crunched it into tiny bits to put on as topping. A weird mix, but the salt mixed with the sweet was a nice kick to start the morning with. Thankfully Alphys had already stocked one of the cabins with nutella and coffee, as she had gained the nutella-coffee craving from you: thus you could start the morning with freshly brewed coffee.

Putting in the second ear-bud, you cleaned the table and put down the plates and forks, swinging your hips to the music as you hummed along. As you didn’t have any pockets you had to keep carrying around your phone and place it somewhere close to you, but with a loud beat from the music, your ear-buds were suddenly pulled out from your ears and the phone fell on the floor. “Oh, great.” You groaned as you leaned down to pick it up, only just seeing Alphys standing right in front of you. With a yelp you jumped back and she shouted just as loud, “Sorry!” she put her hands up, “I didn’t mean to scare you!” Her eyes were fixed on your hands for a moment before they met your eyes and she smiled.

 

“Well! That’s one way to start the morning! With a small heart attack” you chuckled as Undyne came in behind Alphys, yawning and stretching, “Damn, this smells good! You should stay over everyday and cook food for us every morning!”

“You haven’t even tasted it yet, it might be horrible!” You laughed and gestured for them to sit down.

 

Thankfully it wasn’t and both Undyne and Alphys enjoyed their breakfast, although Alphys still seemed like she could’ve slept for a couple of more hours.

The rest of the day went just like yesterday. More moving, unboxing, unpacking, cleaning, repairing, chatting, eating, back to moving and welcoming the new group of monsters and it kept on going for the rest of the day. You didn’t get to see much of your best monster friends all day, and only managed to give occasional waves or smiles to them as they passed by on the street, carrying large boxes and bags.   


As evening came, you called your dad to let him know he could pick you up, and standing under one of the few working streetlamps, you waited for him. It had stopped snowing, but the cold was still biting your skin and prickling your nose and cheeks pink. To pass time you breathed hot clouds into the cold air, watching the fog disappear from your vision. Sometimes the fog would shape into familiar figures, and one almost looked like a cracked face was but it faded before you could make any note of it.   
Blowing out another cloud, that same facial structure was there again just for a split-second: two big black eyes and a strange smile, and when it vanished, you swore you saw it on the other side of the road. Hissing a curse under your breath and quickly looking away, you were thankful that your dad arrived a few seconds after to pick you up. You blamed the dark night and exhaustion for that strange scare.

 

The ride home was quiet as they usually were with when your dad was driving. You had an easier time talking to your mom as she was open to subjects she usually didn’t understand, and was full of curiosity, so you got a chance to nerd about games and cosplay despite she was blank as a canvas. Your dad though, mostly talked about work, politics, history and science, which was also incredibly interesting listening to, but hard to start a topic with after a long day. Your dad knew this, and put on a CD with Queen so you could have a conversation about how great Freddie Mercury was; despite you’ve had that conversation a million times already. 

You arrived home, ate dinner and went to bed, tired, happy and content.

 

Wednesday throughout Saturday disappeared faster than you had anticipated. Moving back into your apartment took a lot more effort than you originally thought it would and it was exhausting. The first night staying there you felt so homesick and lonely you called your dad to drive you back to their place again. The next night went a lot easier, but it still felt strange to wake up in an empty apartment, with no friends or family around you when you had been surrounded by both for months. While you were preparing the apartment, your mother had thoroughly cleaned it for you, so it was ready for putting back all the stuff you had brought to your parents place. As your mother was cleaning areas that hadn’t been cleaned for ages, she found a few things that belonged to the monsters and put it all in a box. This time you remembered to keep in contact with your monster friends, and took pictures of the things you found to send them, (which was mostly San’s socks) while they took pictures of the work they put into rebuilding the town.

To add to all this, you also put effort into chatting a bit more with Matilde. Gradually your conversations had become more casual and less about your health and more about your common interests, and you planned to meet sometime soon for her to give you tickets to a local concert. You wrote the date down in your calendar, but you had already forgotten what you agreed on an hour later.

 

It was Sunday now, and you were sitting in your oversized pyjamas on the couch, playing Fallout 4 and drinking coffee, writing on skype with Matilde.

_‘Did you see the new character I created?? :D’_ she messaged you, linking a photo of her character and you laughed- it was an exact replica of her favourite actor. _‘HOW DID YOU EVEN…..GET IT SO ACCURATE……….’_

 

_‘Skil my friend. Skill’_

_‘More like: obsession’_

_‘That too’_

 

You continued playing until late evening and it was time for dinner. It was easy enough to prepare as the leftovers from your mom was ready to take, and placing yourself back in your cocoon of blankets on the couch, you sighed. To think that your monster friends had lived here for so long, sat in the same place as you, used the same oven, the same tv, bed, bath- it was weird to think that those months were now gone.

Which reminded you: there was only two weeks or so until Christmas and you still needed a present for Sans. It’s time for etsy, you thought to yourself, and whipped out your computer. Stuffing your face with your left hand and browsing with the right one, you looked for every possible thing he might like that wasn’t hoodies or shoes. You wanted to give him something unique that fit his personality; preferably wearable as you had a feeling he didn’t care much for hobbies or decorating his surroundings. 

Settling on trying to find a necklace (although you weren’t sure if he was even able to wear it… you’d have to check), you found a thick silver necklace where the length of the chain and design of the pendant was customizable. Great, now you just had to design a pendant.

Speaking of the sun, Sans messaged you _‘About the stuff we left at your apartment, can I come over tomorrow and grab them? I still have your extra key btw’_

You weren’t counting on going anywhere tomorrow, _‘Sure thing. And keep the key, it’s nice that you have a spare in case I lock myself out or something :)’_

 

_‘Cool. I’ll be over around noon’_

 

Was it strange that you felt a spark of excitement at the prospect of seeing Sans again? Probably, but he was one you could relax with when he was around, so you weren’t going to try and suppress that feeling.

 

Around midnight you managed to drag your sorry ass back into your bedroom, and you were still surprised at how empty it seemed without all of Alphys’ and Undyne’s stuff here. The window at the end of the room was both a blessing and a pain, as it gave a huge beam of light in the morning, but also allowed your neighbours to see everything. And you meant, everything. Pulling in your curtains with a sigh, at the last second, the form of a hand slammed on the window with no sound.  You had already covered the window and were not going to check if what you had seen was real.

Falling asleep became a lot harder than usual.

 

You had another dreamless night that left you clammy and exhausted and you wanted to believe it was because your stress level was finally dropping, and your body was trying to adjust. There was one thing you remembered though: weird whispers and gestures, but nothing you could put your finger on, except for a circle and a line. The rest was a blur.

 

You must have been lying in bed for quite some time, as the doorbell caught you by surprise and your cursed heavily in panic. Looking in the mirror you weren’t exactly a looker this morning, but you pulled your hair away from your face as well you could, fixed your pyjamas and went for the door, hoping it wasn’t someone important like the prime minister. You visibly relaxed when you saw it was Sans, and he was about to say hello until he eyed you, “You look deader than me.”

 

Giving a half-hearted chuckle you stepped aside to let him in, “I forgot the time and woke up by the bell,” that was half-true, “I’m getting coffee, do you want some?”  


“Only if you have nutella”

 

“Oh please. As if I would make coffee without it.”

 

He laughed and went over to the box on the table that said ‘friends-stuff’, “Is this the box?” giving a quick yup in reply, he opened it to find that it was mostly his and Undyne’s stuff; socks, a joke book with several books taped and glued into it, some jewellery, a top, some underwear she probably wouldn’t want him to see and various other small objects that you had found under the couch and bed.

Closing it up again he saw another book next to the box and mistaking it for something that should have been in it, he opened it to look and found your sketchbook.

You just managed to walk in with two cups of coffee in hand to see him carefully going through the pages. If it wasn’t because of the coffee, you would have jumped to snatch it out of his hand, but instead yelped, “OH- THAT’S UH- erh, it’s nothing important, just sketches and stuff, just give it here-!” you put the cups away and tried grabbing for the book, but Sans merely ducked out of reach every time, “Is this Alphys?” he smiled at you, genuinely interested in your drawings and you huffed, “Yes- now c’mon!”

After the third attempt of trying to get it back you straightened up and sat down on the couch to drink your coffee with a sour face. Okay so it didn’t’ really matter that he was looking through it, you were in fact going to show him your art at some point, you were just irrationally afraid that he would think the things you had drawn were childish, ridiculous or ugly. But when he smiled and held your book as gently as he did, you did get a kick out of it. You watched his expression intensely as it changed from one page to the other, always in awe and smiling.

It was almost as if he knew. Like he knew that you would not get mad if he kept looking and kept the book to himself.

“You’re really good.” He finally spoke, “Very interesting lines and caricatures, and your facial expressions are so alive”

 

You hadn’t expected actual feedback from him and felt your face flush, but instead of giving a proper thank you, you waved and pulled your face in for maximum double-chin, “oh you!”

Joining you on the couch he flipped to the last pages and smirked at you, “I especially like these” he pointed at the ones you had drawn of him, and quickly you took the book, snapped it close and put it on the small table next to you. His laugh was the only thing that made it okay as he was practically wheezing at your reaction, and you had to do everything in your power to keep a straight face. It was futile though, and you ended up sputtering out a laugh as well, “Okay so I’ve drawn you a couple of times! But you look really interesting!-“ you were cut off by the doorbell, “Hold on.”

 

Rather puzzled you went to the door, still holding your cup, and looked out through the peeking hole, freezing on the spot. “Fuck. Shit. That was today.”

“What is today?” Sans inquired.

 

“My friend is here.”

 

“Who?”

 

“My _human_ friend.”

 

“…Well shit”

 

Matilde was standing outside, smiling with anticipation. Running a hand through your hair you quickly whispered back to Sans, “Pretend to be dead- erh, deader, than usual! A doll!!”  He put away his mug and lied down on the couch, the lights of his eyes going out, and you would have applauded him had it not been for how incredibly bad this could go.

 

Taking in a deep breath you opened the door, and smiled, seeing as her genuine joy upon seeing you was contagious. You had a good 10 seconds of squealing and hugging before she laughed, “I see nothing has changed!” she commented on your outfit and you shrugged, “You know how I look! I don’t have to dress up to impress you” you grinned as she placed her hand on your face to push you back into the room to close the door behind her.

 

“Thank god your apartment is heated up, it’s so fucking cold outsi-FUCK! WHAT!“ Matilde jumped back as she discovered Sans.

You were about to prepare a speech about monsters before she stepped closer to the couch, clutching her heart, “That’s a fucking scary doll! Where did you get that?”

 

“I made it!” you lied. Why did you lie about that, it was easier to say it was bought- oh well.

 

“…why?” she grimaced at you and you sputtered out, “For a cosplay! It’s uh, a companion to some sort of… devil character.”

 

That seemed to explain most of it to her. She wasn’t into cosplay herself, but to her, anything odd looking could be explained with cosplay. “It’s damn well made. The clothes and everything.”

 

You muttered a thank you, trying to think about how to get him out of there and off the couch, thus you failed to notice how she had poked her finger into Sans’ right eye-socket, and the skeleton was actually sweating.

“DON’T DO THAT!”   
Matilde pulled back her finger as had she burned it on a candle, “Sorry- it’s just- the paint on the inside of it is still drying, I only just finished it.“ You couldn’t let him stay there anymore and went over to gently pick him up in your arms, “I’ll just put in him…-it… In my room, there’s uh coffee on the table, I made it for you!”

 

Matilde gave a sheepish smile and picked up the cup, “Thanks… and sorry, I hope I didn’t ruin it.”

 

“It’s fine! Don’t worry about it!” You smiled and rushed into your bedroom to put Sans on your bed and closed the door behind you before whispering to him, “I am so sorry!”

The light in his eyes returned and he held a hand over his eye socket, “That was… uncomfortable.”

Frowning, you wanted to grab out and remove his hand to check, but you knew there would be nothing there to see and held your hand back, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah it’s fine, just odd.” He gave his usual smile, though still looking tense.

 

“I’ll get her out as fast as I can. An hour, tops.”

 

Going back out you kept the door closed to the bedroom and smiled to Matilde, “it’s so the door won’t slam. I kept the window open so it would dry quicker.”

She nodded and didn’t seem to give it much thought, rummaging through her purse for the tickets. For her to not discover more strange things, you removed the box with your monster friend’s stuff and put it underneath the table. Sitting down next to her you quickly drank all of your coffee before it went cold.

“Here is yours! Remember, it’s the second day after Christmas. Yours truly will be performing among other cool people. And, if you want to, you can perform as well.” Matilde’s eyes grew as big as teacups as she handed you the ticket, and in response you looked like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on. “And what on earth would I be performing with?”

 

“Singing of course!”

 

“But I’m in no way professional, and my voice cracks at high notes and-“

 

“None of us are professional!” She argued and you groaned. You kind of wanted to perform, as those short moments of being on stage gave a good kick. In high school you were on the drama team. You weren’t the best actor, but good enough to be included as small or strange roles. Performing always left you with adrenalin pumping through your veins, wanting more of it. Once you were in a band for a few months until it fell apart, but the weekends of jamming, singing, coming up with lyrics and even playing for a school once, were memories you treasured.

But you had stage fright. Perfect combo. It made it a terrible mix of dreading the two days, if not more, before a performance, until you actually stood on the stage, and loved every nerve-wracking second of it.

“….hnnmmmmaaaaybeeee?” you replied. Matilde squealed, “Yes! Just throw me a message before the 20th if you’re in or not!”

 

She spend the next 15 minutes explaining the show, drinking her coffee, and sneaking in song suggestions she thought you should sing. Your eyes kept flickering to the watch on the wall. Sans was awfully quiet and you would hate for him to sit still and pretend to not exist for more than needed.

Eventually, Matilde got up as she had to give the rest of her tickets to the rest of your common friends, but as she stood in the entrance of the apartment, she put her hand on your shoulder, “Just say if you need to talk okay? About anything at all.”

You had almost forgotten how much those words meant to you when they came from her, “I will. Thank you.”

You knew she was curious and anxious for you to possibly get over your ‘amnesia’, but it would have to wait according to the Prime Minister’s plan, but she was also worried as the good friend she was, and wanted to mend whatever scars you had.

The hug she gave you before she left was long and tight, and when you closed the door you took a few seconds to breathe before going into the bedroom. Sans was still sitting there, reading the first few pages of the first Harry Potter book on your nightstand. “Are you okay?” you frowned and Sans merely chuckled “You already asked me that. I’m quite fine. Can I borrow this book? I think Papyrus would like it”

 

You chuckled, feeling more at ease now “Sure, go ahead. There’s six more of them in the living room.”

 

You seated yourself back in the couch and watched as Sans packed down the first two of the books, and he smiled with such an amused look on his face, that it sparked your curiosity, but you didn’t dare to ask just why he was so happy.

It was only in the doorway when he looked up at you and grinned, that he revealed what had him so excited; “That concert sounds pretty great. You should perform”

 

“Not.”

 

“Not?”

 

“Nope.”

 

Sans grinned wider and you pursed your lips, “Maybe. But mostly no. I like the idea of it, but not actually doing it.”

 

“I think you’ll regret it if you don’t do it.” Sans winked and adjusted the box in his arms, “I have to get back and fix the last stuff at the new place. I’ll see you around.”

 

“Right,” you huffed and gave him a quick hug, sneaking in a peek of his neck. Okay good, a necklace could sit on it and not fall down, “hopefully sooner than later.”

 

“Definitely.”

 

You watched him leave down the stairs and only closed the door once you head heard him leave the building completely. Goddamn it was annoying when he was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dun dun duuuuun, Mystery is being added! 
> 
> As always, critiques and comments are encouraged, and I would love to hear any suggestions for what should be added or happen in future chapters <3 I have an overall story arch planned, but any ideas from the readers would be awesome! :D
> 
> If you find any grammatical errors, feel free to point those out as well! English is not my first language, and I'd love to get better at it c:


	7. So far, so good

Most of your online purchases had arrived timely to your parents place. As you went to pick them up, you were invited for a last-minute Christmas baking session with your mother. Although, she did most of the baking and you took it upon yourself to test if the cookies were sublime as always. While she was working hard in the kitchen, you wrapped the presents up and you could only thank your few months in a retail store for your ability to sort of decently wrap up the presents – some of them had a fair amount of tape on them, but they held together quite nicely.

When you father returned home from work later that afternoon, he immediately went for the freshly baked cookies, only to earn a slap over the hand from your mother.   
You interrupted their friendly banter as a question popped up in your head, “Will we have two Christmas’s this year as well?” to which your mother nodded “As always”.   
It was a tradition that had started a long time ago, as your family was insanely big and valued tradition aka: everybody had to be there for Christmas. You had a whole bunch of cousins, two nephews and three nieces (as both of your siblings had children), in-laws, grandparents, distant relatives you weren’t even sure were related to you, family friends sometimes joined in along with their children and sometimes there were more pets than people and in general it became rather impossible to gather everybody at once. Thus you had one Christmas on the 23rd for all of those who couldn’t be there on the 24th. It was only every 4th or 5th year that the entire family managed to be gathered at the same time, as your siblings and relatives also had their in-laws families to celebrate Christmas with.

“Who is coming for the 23rd?” you asked.

“You, dad and I, the eldest and their wife and kids.”

“I was wondering if uhm…” it was only when you had begun your question you realized that you would most definitely get a no for an answer, “…if I could invite my monster friends for the 23rd?” you grimaced and your mother immediately replied “No.”

You only managed to sigh before she elaborated, “Christmas is a family tradition, besides, their wife and kids are coming… do you really want to spend Christmas explaining about monsters? Or for your friends to be put on the spot like that?”

“Fine fine, I get it…” she was right, but it still sucked. You wanted to celebrate Christmas with them in some way, to see them open their presents and to share a holiday with them. You were pretty sure you were going to celebrate new years with your human friends as Matilde had talked about making it a combined welcome back party for you, which was something you wouldn’t miss for the world. It was incredibly kind of her to take such good care of you, but you just wished you could have a party with your monster friends again. Having your two social life’s separated was sometimes a fucking hassle. 

“I can drive you there in the morning to be with them for a bit?” Your father suggested, “On the 23rd that is. We don’t eat until late evening, but on the 24th we’re out all day.”

You squealed at the suggestion, “That would be awesome!” it was damn better than nothing “Thank you!” 

Your dad was as bad with compliments as you were and waved a hand at you while muffling a ‘no problem’ under his breath.

Kissing his cheek when you walked past him, you went to your room and picked up your phone, dialling Toriel to tell her the news. Your thoughts caught up with your actions a moment too late, and you realized you hadn’t spoken with Toriel since she had dropped that bomb on you weeks ago. You didn’t know if she had left that conversation as angry as you did, but you supposed you were about to find out as she picked up the phone.

“Hello, dear!” Toriel spoke as cheerful as always, and your shoulders fell, free of tension.  

“Hey Toriel! How are you?”

“Good, good! Everything is going quite well over here; we’re currently restoring the school for the children! How about you, m’dear?”

“Good!” You shortly replied, wanting to get to the good news straight away – or at least you hoped they would be good news, “You guys celebrate Christmas right? On the 24th?”

“Yes, that we do” her curiosity was audible.

“I was wondering if it’s okay for me to come over on the 23rd, maybe for a Christmas brunch or something, where we can exchange gifts? I’m celebrating Christmas with my relatives on the 24th, but they said I could come on the 23r-“ you were cut off halfway through your explanation by Toriel exclaiming with glee, “Why of course! That would be lovely! I’ll bake the pie you liked so much in the underground and upgrade it with some Christmas goodie-ness, and oh! Papyrus and Undyne would love to bake cookies for the brunch! This is a wonderful opportunity to gather every body!”

You smiled, “That’s great to hear!” you chuckled, “But wait, you don’t celebrate Christmas together on the 24th with the rest?”

“Oh we are! We’re just holding a Christmas for the entire town instead of just the ‘inner-circle’, so to speak. So the 23rd will be a great private get-together” 

That eased your mind as you were afraid that Toriel or any of the others would have to spend Christmas alone, “Good, good” you murmured to yourself, “Let’s figure out when I should come over when we’re closer to the date yeah?”   
  
“Of course! I’ll let the others know and we’ll figure something out. I look forward to seeing you again, dear”

“Likewise. See you soon!” 

You felt incredibly relieved. You were going to celebrate Christmas morning (or the day before... two days before...Christmas morning, whatever) with you treasured friends and most importantly; Toriel didn’t sound angry at all and she was excited to see you. You really had just put too much thought into her words back then, hadn’t you? You cared more about what people thought and said about you than what was good for you, and it felt like a huge stone had been lifted off your back.

Now all that was left to fix before Christmas was Sans’ present. If you had to buy necklaces for all the others, it would have been a lot easier as you could base their pendants on their obvious hobbies or magical attacks. Now that you thought about it, you hadn’t seen Sans’ magic in use at all, only his strange bursts of teleportation or ‘short-cuts’ as he called them. You weren’t’ even sure if he had any sort of magical attacks at all.   
You would have to design something based on nothing then. What if you linked the pendant to yourself? Then it would be something sweet between the two of you so he’d always have a piece of you- nope, that was too cheesy and could definitely be seen the wrong way.

But cheesy was good and it was the only idea you could come up with, at least that was the excuses you came up with as you drew on a random piece of paper: two crossed bones with a heart over it, kept inside a circle shaped pendant. The heart was your soul of course, not something… else. And if he asked any stupid questions or made weird puns, you’d have to point out what it was.

The whole soul thing was still a weird element to you, and you could still remember the sensation of it being pulled out from your body, feeling different every time a new monster called it out. You borrowed your dad’s computer to send the design to the lady on etsy, along with the measurements for the chain. It had to be sent now to be able to arrive on time before Christmas, so there was no going back from the design. You could only guess how thick Sans’ neck was, but you thought you could recall it was about the same width as your wrist. You added an inch, just to be sure.

You stayed for dinner with your parents and decided to leave the presents at their place, as they had to be driven to the monster’s town anyway on the 23rd since some of them were rather heavy. When you had finished eating you walked back home to your place, listening to music as you usually did. Matilde had sent you a song she wanted you to listen to as a song suggestion for the concert. She always knew exactly what kind of music you liked which was pretty much anything as long as there was purpose to it and a genuine feeling that could lift you through the song.   
Your joy of swinging your head to the music was cut short as a pedestrian yelled at you, “TURN DOWN YOUR DAMN MUSIC!!” and you jumped up in the air, frantically pressing the volume button to put it to the lowest possible. How the hell he had even heard your music was beyond you as he was on the other side of the road! You guessed he simply needed something to complain about.

The shock of being yelled at out of nowhere still stayed with you until you were in your apartment and you had to message Sans as your shock turned to momentary furry _‘Some guy just yelled at me to turn down my music. He was on the other side of the street. I was wearing earbuds……. The heck.’_  

You received a reply not long after, _‘Sounds like a joy-killer to me. Perhaps your music was not really his **forte** ’_

With a snort you replied back, _‘I like how you conduct of your jokes.’_

_‘I’ve been told I’m pretty sharp ;)’_

You chuckled to yourself as you went into the bathroom to lay down your phone on the counter and put your music back on again. At least there was no one here who could complain about your music, except for the neighbours if you played it terribly loud.   
Stripping off your clothes you spend a few minutes in the mirror judging yourself and decided that that was a terrible idea. It always ended in too much criticism than what was good for you. You looked great and a stupid mirror shouldn’t have to change that, or rather your own opinion of you shouldn’t. Instead you turned on the water and waited for it to get hot.

It wasn’t exactly a new and sparkling apartment, so the temperature had to be put to the highest possible to give you some sort of warmth. The stream of water was pathetic. Your showerhead might as well have been a sneezing mouse, but at least it did the job.

Finally standing under the water, so hot it steamed up the bathroom in a matter of minutes, you moved your back against the stream for a bit of makeshift massage. You hummed the tone of the music while moving gently to the tone, sighing at how lovely the water felt, except suddenly you couldn’t feel the water at all. Great. Had the pipes fucked up now? You hadn’t even managed to wash your hair thoroughly.

Looking up to check the showerhead, you saw that is was still running perfectly. Well, that was odd. Frowning, you traced the falling water to your body and saw how it never once hit your skin, as every drop bounced away only a few inches from you. You squealed in surprise and jumped out of the shower, nearly slipping on the floor if you hadn’t caught the sink in time.

The water ran perfectly again and you were left staring in disbelief at your shower.

That had to have been some sort of hallucination right? Even with monsters and magic in your life, that still seemed incredibly unbelievable that you suddenly repelled water- were you the new Avatar or something? Or perhaps you were Irma from W.I.T.C.H? Wait why were you thinking about cartoon characters, this was serious!

You couldn’t fail to notice how it was getting incredibly cold standing outside the shower and told yourself that what you had just seen, was not real (you did that an awful lot lately…), and outstretched your hand into the water. Nothing. Nothing extraordinary whatsoever happened.   
You let out a sigh before a thought struck you and before you knew it you were humming the song currently playing, low and shaky, and keeping your eyes pierced on the water droplets on your hand. To say that you screamed when they bounced off your hand to the rhythm of the hymn would be an understatement, and you were forced to quite awkwardly put on a towel and explain to your worried neighbour that you were fine and only screamed because you fell in the shower.

An hour later, you were still not dressed and merely sat on the couch, staring into nothing as you listened to the drops fall from your wet hair. You had come to the conclusion that something was indeed up. So far, so good. Now you just had to decide whether or not you were going slightly insane and imagining things that weren’t there, or if the things you saw actually _were_ there _._ You weren’t’ sure which one of those options were preferable.

You still had that image of a circle and a line in your head and thought for a moment that maybe it had something to do with your water-music-bending (it needed a cooler name), but that just didn’t feel right.

With your hands folded in your lap and fingers intertwined, you tried to stop shaking. The incident with the hand on your window, the face in the smoke and the symbol in your dream; all of it was a lot more creepy now that your oh-fuck-what-is-happening panic thoughts were on a run and tried to connect everything – even things that probably didn’t have anything to do with what happened in the shower.

The pushing of the water… it was strange and out of nowhere, at least as far as you recalled. Fuck you were getting a headache. You wanted to call Matilde, but she was probably the last person you should tell this to. Your mother and father didn’t need to worry more than they already had for the past… too many months. You could call Sans, actually you really desperately wanted to, but there had already been a too big of a focus on your responsibilities and health for too long and he was busy settling into the town. Besides, Christmas was coming up, and depending on whether or not this was a small or a big thing, as in; was it stress or actual freaking Slenderman horror shit; you wanted to wait. It was probably stupid and selfish not to tell anyone, you knew that already, and it was possible that the images of whatever that cracked face was could get worse, but for now you handled it alright, didn’t you? You could handle it for now yeah. You really didn’t want to burden anyone as you felt too embarrassed to tell your friends that you could make water bounce of your hand when you hummed, especially if it was just a case of being tired or having watched too much Heroes. But if it got worse, you would definitely tell Sans. At least you tried to convince yourself of that.

_‘Knock knock’_

You jolted on the couch as you received a message from Sans. Taking a breath you typed _‘Who’s there?’_

_‘Donut’_

_‘Donut who?’_

_'Donut open till’ Christmas! I got your Christmas present B)’_ and attached was a picture of him holding a huge-ass box that he could barely hold in his arms. Holy shit, what the fuck had he bought you? You couldn’t stop laughing, it was such a sweet gesture and his message had come just at the perfect time to cheer you up, but Jesus that box was so big that you felt your present for him was going to be inferior compared to his.

You snickered as you came up with a reply, _‘Holy shit. Are you compensating for something with a box that size?’_

It took a minute before Sans replied back _‘… :I’_ that was better than any snarky pun and you snorted so loud you were pretty sure the neighbours could hear you again. He replied again a bit later _‘Welp, coal for you then’_

You let out a NO as you typed it on your phone _‘NOOOOO I’m sure it’s true what the say about size; it’s the performance that matters, right?’_

_‘Lots and lots of coal for you.’_

You continued chatting for hours, sending snarky replies back and forth, dumb puns and even more terrible knock-knock jokes, until you were lying on the couch and your phone fell on your face. You grunted and picked it up again, reading through the last few messages. You loved how Sans could make you laugh by simple texts, how you could imagine his laugh, his smirks, winks and tone of voice when he delivered a punch-line. Eventually you had to wish him goodnight and he replied _‘Sweet dreams. Let’s meet some time before Christmas’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUUUUUN 
> 
> Critique and comments are encouraged as they give me a wonderful boost to keep going, and I'd love to get better at writing <3 
> 
> and I have a few stuff to share with you all! 
> 
> Here’s a playlist of various genres of songs I listen to when I write! From this playlist, it should be pretty easy with the recommendations to find similar songs :D  
> https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhJoE3K1a-9Lb_M1IJou8dOLL07gYgqp4 
> 
> For those interested in how the circle and line symbol looks go here http://i.imgur.com/iOV6aBy.png ! If you had a different idea of how it looked, feel free to go with your own version, but there is going to be a reason later on for why it looks like that c: 
> 
> I also have a tumblr if you want to send asks or strike up a conversation about the fic! thedustyleaves.tumblr.com there’s nothing I love more than a good headcanon session B)


	8. What the fuck

Waking up from your own unattractive snore, you flung your eyes open and quickly looked around trying to orientate yourself. Apparently you had fallen asleep on the couch with your head against the armrest, mouth wide open and only covered by your now damp towel. That had been an absolutely terrible decision made by your late night self.

Sitting up your entire body ached and you groaned in pain- or tried to. Your voice was gone, and now that you thought about it, you felt quite terrible. A headache was building up, your eyes were watering and your nose running, and oh fuck… you had a cold.

As you, more or less, crawled into your bedroom to put on your pyjamas and some thick woollen socks, you cursed yourself for being so careless. You had waited for your regular December flu to erupt as it always did, and you had sniffled a bit for the past few weeks but had managed to ignore it with pure stubbornness. You supposed that now that your stress level had dropped and you had settled into your apartment, your body was only waiting for a weak moment like this to let the cold set in. Thanks body.

Luckily you had no reason to get out of bed today, so grabbing your laptop, phone and a glass of water you hopped to bed and stacked a couple of pillows behind your back to get into the browser position.

There was nothing on facebook other than updates from your friends and family of the usual Christmas shopping or _‘Together with the cute one ;)’_ statuses’ from new couples.  
Tumblr provided nothing interesting either and you guessed that most of the people you followed had to be busy with the last exams and big essays of the semester, plus preparing for Christmas. It reminded you shortly that you had to look into getting back to school again. You could try and research some schools, but you were pretty sure that you snot-filled head wouldn’t be able to properly process information right now.  
Youtube was quickly checked as you went through your subscriptions and watched their Christmas shopping vlogs and for twitter you only scrolled for a few minutes before you got bored, and you didn’t bother to tweet anything yourself either. You could watch a movie, but you didn’t have the attention span to sit through one you already knew, or to stay awake and absorb information from a new one.

The 1st world problems were very real today.

An hour of sniffles and harks later you texted your mother quite pathetically, _‘I’m sick… : ((‘_ and she replied back with a novel of instructions on how to get better and made you swear that you stayed in bed all day and took care of yourself, as she couldn’t didn’t want you to be sick on the 24 th again. You remembered that Christmas eve with a frown as you still felt bad about wasting so much good food by puking it all up again.

You checked your phone; it was the 17th so there was time enough to get properly sick and properly well again. With that thought, you slid your laptop down to the floor and fell asleep. 

You woke up a couple of times when your nose prevented you from breathing properly, and you had to blow out a kilo of snot, or you snored yourself awake. How charming. You received a few text messages during the day from your mother, but you slept through all of them and replied late afternoon to let her know that all was well. A few minutes after you saw that Mettaton had texted you; _‘Hello, Hello, darling! I recently settled in with my dear cousin in the surface town (dreadful place, but we’re working on it), and I couldn’t help but realize that I haven’t seen enough of your gorgeous face! Would you like to come by and visit?’_

If he could see you right now he’d probably take back the compliment about your face, you thought to yourself. His message made you smile though and you gave a choked laugh _, ‘Hey! <3 I’d love to! Sadly I’m sick right now, but when I’m better I’ll visit you right away! Thank you for asking! And say hi to Napstablook from me :)’_

Not long after, your phone was ringing and the moment you picked it up, Mettaton was squealing, “You’re sick!? Why didn’t you tell me!! I’m the best stay-at-home nurse in all of the underground! I’ve assisted Alphys countless of times! How did you get sick? What is happening to you!?”

You wanted to laugh at how extreme his reaction was, but he was so genuinely worried you didn’t want to offend him. Besides, your voice was almost gone so you couldn’t really laugh anyway. You tried to interrupt, but it was only by the 5th time you said his name that a sound actually came out, “Me…Metta..ton- it’s f..ne“ he finally took in a deep breathe, “You don’t sound fine!”

“It’s ju-…st a cold” you cleared your throat, “it’s quite a nor-…mal one”

“…a normal one?” Mettaton sounded almost offended by that.

“Yes-“ you weren’t sure why he reacted in such an extreme way, but you realised that perhaps monster colds were different to human colds, “Just coug…hing, sne… sneezing, and no voice” although it was getting better the more you talked. 

“Oh…. Oh!” He audible sighed on the other end of the line, “That’s such a relief! So it’s sneezing like Undyne does when she’s in Snowdin?”

“Yes!” you replied, “Some…thing like that”

“Thank goodness!” Mettaton exclaimed with glee, “You know, you humans are hard to figure out! You have several qualities that can be recognized in various monsters, but you’re never just one thing! It’s puzzling! Anyway, my offer of being your nurse is still up. I won’t keep you up any longer, you need your rest, so just text me alright darling?”

“It’s quit-…e curious now that you mention it yeah-“ that was a conversation you’d love to continue another day when your head wasn’t pounding like crazy, “There’s really no need, but thank you, it’s sweet of you” 

“It’s no trouble! Ta-taa~”

You hung up with a ‘see you!’ and decided it was time to get out of bed and make some food. That little phone-call had given you a much needed energy boost, but the more you thought about cooking, the less you wanted to do it and took a box of cup-soup from your shelf instead. It was the easiest thing to make and eat. You wrapped your blanket around your shoulders and made a little knot so it wouldn’t fall off, and looking at your kitchen you had forgotten the amount of dishes you had left there. Yeah, that would have to wait; you grimaced.

Filling up your kettle with water and turning it on, you then took your favourite (and only clean) cup from your shelf and put it on the table, but was immediately startled by a loud sound clinking in your ears. The moment your hands flew up to cover your ears the sound was gone and you had a few seconds to be puzzled about what the hell that had been. Your eyes darted around, but the more you thoughts of it, the more it had sounded like your cup hitting the table surface- your thoughts were interrupted when the sound of bubbling water had turned to a roaring waterfall in your inner ear.

The level of noise was so deafening you couldn’t even hear your own shocked yell as you rushed into the living room to get away from it, only to be hammered down by the ticking of your wall clock, the storm of the breeze outside your window and your own earth shaking footsteps.

Managing to grab two pillows from the couch you pressed them against your ears, feeling like your head was about to split open any moment. The sighs of your neighbours and the creaking of their doors were all loud enough to knock the air out of you and you fell to your knees. 

You didn’t know if you were screaming or not, but your mouth was open and you heard your jaw click like a gun being fired. Biting down on the edge of the couch you didn’t care about the droll gliding down your neck or the tears streaming from your eyes. You just wanted this immense pain searing through your head to stop, you didn’t even care if you ended up being deaf as long as it fucking _stopped_.

Your prayers were only answered for a few seconds, where all sounds went back to normal long enough for you to catch your breath, only for you to then be overwhelmed once more, this time with the bass from the terrible dubstep your neighbour below listened to. The sound of a dog barking a mile away was now a bear growling in your ear, spiders clicking footsteps became a marching band through your apartment, pinpricks were thunderstorms, all too much, too loud, too searing and ear splitting.

It only got worse when your phone started ringing and for fucks sake, they probably meant well, but right now whoever was calling deserved to be spiked with a pitchfork through their arse.

Another pause followed by thundering noises and yet another. You had no idea for how long this continued, but every time your phone rang you nearly fell unconscious, and eventually you did.

When you opened your eyes again, you were lying on the floor, your furniture pushed away from you and your arms over the pillows on your ears. Your couch had been forced a meter to your left, your table the same and various objects on your shelves were knocked off. Your eyes were sticky and crunchy from the salt of your tears, and with a deep intake of air, you sat up. The room was spinning around you, images flowing over each other as you tried to turn your head. Everything seeming out of balance for a moment before it corrected itself and allowed you to be able to see. At least the noises were mostly back to a normal level and only interrupted once in a while by sharp jolts of loud thuds, scaring the hell out of you every time.

Forcing yourself up on your feet you managed to get to the kitchen. The boiling water had turned off long ago and gone cold again, and grabbing your phone you checked the time; Three hours had passed since you first got out of bed and you had missed fifteen calls from papyrus. You considered calling him, but he had a rather loud voice and you wouldn’t risk what had happened before to happen again, so you texted him, only to find that your hands were shaking considerably and it was practically impossible for you to type.

You didn’t want this, you didn’t need this weirdness in your life happening to you and feeling completely out of control, your breath quickened in momentary panic. Clutching your hand on the edge of the kitchen counter you spend a good 10 minutes calming yourself down and put your phone on the counter to keep it still, typing back; _‘I’m so sorry I didn’t reply. I was sleeping and my phone was on silent’_

That was all you could muster to type for now.

Papyrus texted back, the buzzing screeching shortly in your ear, _‘It’s okay! I just wanted to check if you were alright! Mettaton told me you were sick and I got worried when you didn’t answer my calls :-(’_

You wanted to reply back, you really did, but for now all you could think off was dragging yourself back to bed and lying down to sleep, and hopefully you would wake up and find that it had all been a nightmare. You entire body went numb the moment it hit the surface of the soft mattress and you went into a deep sleep.

It continued like this for the next two days. You’d get noise-attacks, as you ended up calling them, about 2 or 3 hours a day while various random noises would suddenly get higher for just a split second, causing you to jump and yelp in shock. When the “noise-attacks” came, you immediately succumbed to the floor in your living room by default, and when the attacks stopped, you looked around to find all your nearby furniture and various decorations pushed away just like the first time. You then spend the next hour trying to put everything back, ignoring your shaking body as well as you could. You could conclude by then that you were not a water bender, so no Korra for you.

On the third day, you were sitting on your couch with your hands folded between your legs, resting your elbows on your knees. Your cold had almost gone away with only the occasional sneezes and coughs left behind, but the shaking of your hands hadn’t stopped. The constant headaches and thundering noises had left you in shambles, feeling unsure of yourself, your surroundings and your body, as you could never guess when the next explosion would happen or why. You wouldn’t be able to keep this a secret like you had hoped for, not like this.

It was the 21st of December, and if more strange things like this would happen to you before Christmas, you were pretty sure you were going to burst from all the strangeness cooped up in you. You had tried to stay casual with your friends and parents so whenever they texted you, your replies were short and precise but hopefully not suspicious. Sans had asked you for the last two days if you wanted to meet up and you had continuously said no and that you were too sick. If you didn’t know any better, you'd say that he had seemed almost wounded in his replies.

Getting up you went to the bathroom to look yourself in the mirror and groaned at the sight. How long had it been since you last showered? Too long, you decided, and hopped in the shower. You had sort of learned how to keep the burst of noise down and how to ignore it, only flinching now whenever it happened. You quickly dried your hair with your dryer and crossed your fingers that the noise level would remain normal, before putting on some loose clothes: a huge sweater and sweatpants and thick socks. Before you knew it you were putting on your jacket, beanie and large yellow gloves and walked outside to go to the nearby forest. You had been cooped up in your apartment for too long, thus the moment you stepped outside, you were reminded how fresh air was supposed to smell compared to the stuffy air in your apartment.

Your phone buzzed in your pocket, but you were too tired to check it and kept walking, the thick layer of snow crackling beneath your feet. All the trees were naked and seemed almost black compared to the glowing white ground below. 

The silence was a blessing. There was nothing but your footsteps and the occasional breeze; the snow deafened everything else. You could handle the occasional loud storm in your ear or hammering footstep, but so far; this was good.

You walked for thirty minutes before a new sound was added, a soft thud placed at the same moment your feet touched the ground, and you stopped momentarily to try and spot it, but nothing. You continued walking, thinking your ears were playing tricks on you, but a moment later, the thuds came back. Someone was walking in the same rhythm as you, and it might have been the last three days that had made you paranoid, but it felt like you were being followed.

Stopping again you whirled around to look for who was after you, but the thuds were gone and there was no one to be seen. 

“Hello?” you called, your voice echoing through out the forest. For the first time in three days, you actually wished for your super-hearing to activate in some way so you could spot this mystery follower, but there was nothing but the wind.

You stood still, not daring to move, and eventually the thuds rhythmically, slowly, began again, this time slightly different – in the rhythm of a heartbeat.

A loud beat was heard behind you, you whirled around, nothing, then from your side you heard a thud, but there was nothing, from above, empty skies, in front, empty forest, below, a face.

A cracked mask stared up at you and with a scream you stumbled back, kicking your feet ahead and with a burst of adrenalin you forced yourself up and ran as fast as you could. Your heart was pounding wildly in your chest, choking your breathe, sounds were bellowing in your ears as the town came closer, cars honking, people chatting and that strange heart beat smashing rhythmically in your head – always constant and never leaving you.

You reached the beginning of an alley, rushed through it and ended up on a busy street full of last minute Christmas shoppers. Slowing down through the crowd you pushed through, slid past one man and below the arm of another, pushing forward and forward, not ever stopping. 

Your breath hitched in your throat, the cold air burning through it. Taking a shortcut (to where again?) through another brick way alley, you leaned against the cold wall head first, trying to stop your hyperventilating. Black spots were forming for of your eyes and it was getting harder to keep them open as tears streamed down. Fuck no, stay awake, stay awake, you tried to remind yourself. 

Without thinking you ripped off your right glove with your teeth and grabbed your phone, and with a shaking hand you looked for Sans. There was a message there you hadn’t checked, but your vision was currently too blurry to read it. You managed to text him your current position with the GPS system, with no description, and thus you slid down the wall and lost grip of your phone, succumbing to your dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *insert Jaws theme* 
> 
> As forever always, critique and comments are highly encouraged <3  
> If you want to chat or throw any ideas for the fic at me, or simply discuss headcanons etc, you can send me an ask on my tumblr thedustyleaves.tumblr.com :D


	9. Secrets

You could easily say that you had not experienced anything like this. Nothingness surrounded you, completely black walls, floor and ceiling, if it even was something as substantial as that. When you walked, your feet touched what felt like thick air; pushing it down but not quite to make you fall through it.   
A voice was whispering and you kept walking, telling them to speak louder as you had a burning desire to know what they were saying.  
The whisper became desperate, hoarse and pained, it tried to reach you and you kept walking, hoping to find it.

Something touched your shoulder, shaking a little bit of colour into your nothingness and you felt dazed. Another voice asked you loud and clear to wake up, to please wake up and open your eyes.  
You must have done what was asked as soothing words suddenly spilled, and you felt yourself lifted into the air, carried by strong arms.

You were covered in darkness again and lying horizontal in the air, unable to walk anymore. The whispers were crying and you apologized, telling them to please speak up, you would help them if they did.

Another jolt and colour was reintroduced to your world and a sharp blue light pierced through it.

It lasted only for a moment before you glided into a black room again, away from colour and away from whispers, only engulfed by your own lone mind.

A circle and a line. That was the first image that came to you when you woke up. You kept your eyes closed, as your lids felt like led, too heavy to pry open.

“…received the location, I went there and they were already lying on the ground, barely conscious.”

That was a familiar voice, a warm and welcome one.

“It’s strange…” another, kinder and more soft voice joined in, “At any rate, it was good that you brought them here. My healing calmed them down and they seem much better now.” Despite the good news, her voice was still wavering. It sounded like Toriel.

You finally opened your eyes, immediately regretting it as bright light washed over you and forced you to squint. You were lying on a soft couch and there was a familiar smell of cinnamon in the air.

“Right… thank you for that.” It became clear to you that the first voice had been Sans. Then all at once you remembered the text message you had sent him, how you had fled through the town, from a mask lying in the snow on the bottom of a forest. You didn’t know if you were mostly terrified right now or felt quite simply stupid.

Fidgeting with your hands and keeping your eyes on the ceiling, Toriel caught eye of you, “They’re awake!” her voice was low from the kitchen, but still crystal clear to you. She rushed into the livingroom, her padded paws softly touching the floor, “Sweetie!” she kept her voice as calm as she could as she sat on the chair pulled up next to the couch, “How are you feeling? Are you doing alright?”

Slowly turning your head you nodded, but without being able to stop what had already begun, you had to press your lips together to prevent them from shaking. This was not the time to start crying, stop it, stop it! Yeah, trying to convince yourself of that didn’t help when Sans appeared next to Toriel, looking more worried than you had ever seen him, “Hey, I got you some water. You sure you’re okay for now?”

He put the glass away the moment a tear fell from your eyes and you shook your head, “No. No I’m not” your voice choked and you covered your eyes with your hands, trying to brush away the freshly fallen tears. A soft paw brushed the top of you head and without thinking, you flung yourself into Toriel’s arms and embraced her, burying your face into the crook of her neck. Without hesitation her arms were around you, rubbing your back soothingly while she shushed you.

You remained there; feeling a comfort only a mother could give as you cried from all the stress and fear you had been harbouring for days. A bony hand rested on your arm as Sans tried to show that he was there for you, rubbing his thumb in circles on your skin. Reaching out for him you pulled him in, turning your head just enough to see him behind all the fur from Toriel’s arm.

Your sobs turned to shallow breaths and hiccups, and when you tried to pull away, Toriel kept you in her arms, “It’s okay child, just stay until you’re completely calm.” She knew all too well how a good cry didn’t fix everything, and simply by her confirming that; it let you know that you were allowed to rely on her. You selfishly lied back against her and pulled your arms in to let yourself be engulfed by her fur and soft touch.

Sans had stuffed his hands back into his pockets, seeming at loss for what he should say or do, which only served to make you feel guilty. Finally he spoke, “Can I bring you anything? Anything you want to eat?” his voice momentarily went loud and made you flinch. You lightly shook your head, “No thank you, I’m alright…”

Toriel spoke quietly, almost a whisper, “Maybe… you could tell us what happened?” 

You swallowed. Something inside of you screamed ‘no’, but it was impossible not to tell at least something to Toriel and Sans, but you couldn’t make up some ludicrous story. You couldn’t just say that you had felt like going for a run and suddenly felt faint and you were so disappointed in your poor running condition that you ended up crying on Toriel’s couch.

Well you could, but you doubted they would believe you. You bit your lip and sucked on it for a moment before speaking, “I’ve just been feeling really paranoid lately…” your words carried your story before you could give it much thought, “I’ve just kept myself cooped up for so long, hoping that it would help me de-stress but it did just the opposite. So I went for a walk today, but I kept imagining sounds around me… I panicked and ran and then I just... fainted.” You looked down, not wanting to see how either of the two reacted.

Sans spoke, his words weighed and heavy with worry, “Why are you feeling paranoid?”

You shrugged, “I guess I’m more stressed than I thought…”

He didn’t believe you. You knew he didn’t. You could practically feel his eyes on you, in fact you could hear when they finally shifted away and fell upon Toriel.

You hadn’t noticed that her stroking had stopped until it began again, “I have a proposition deary…” she began, “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be alone. You should stay with friends or family until you feel better. Either way, I’m sure your parents wouldn’t mind. I also have a guest room if you need it.”

You sat up straight, “Don’t tell my parents.” Your words came out with desperation, “I don’t want them to worry, they’ve worried about me enough, and they just… they wouldn’t understand, they’re not very good at talking about this kind of stuff-“

“Then stay here.” Toriel interrupted, her voice kind.

Your lower lip quivered again and you had to look down when you nodded, “can we… can we not tell my family? And just pretend I’m still in my apartment?”

Toriel nodded and put her hand on top of yours; having noticed that it had started shaking “If that’s what you want.”

“You should probably tell them at some point,” Sans added; “keeping stuff like this a secret can make stress a lot worse.”

You knew that, and your instant guilt was so clear on your face that Sans continued right away, “but don’t feel pressured to do it, okay? Take your time.” 

Another nod. Toriel patted your hand, “I’ll go upstairs and make the bed alright? Then I’ll make some dinner and you don’t have to do anything, just relax. 

“Thank you… Can I take a walk?” you asked, not wanting to sit here anymore with how Toriel and Sans were looking at you. It was all too clear how they knew you were keeping something hidden from them and the thick air of tension made you choke with guilt.

Toriel hesitated a bit before agreeing, “Of course. Just stay warm.” Her words shortly screeched in your inner ear despite of how kind her voice was, but you kept your reaction to a flinch and quickly got up, “It won’t be long.”

Putting on your shoes and coat, Toriel had already gone upstairs when Sans walked up beside you, “Can I join you?” smiling pleadingly up at you.

You hadn’t expected that. With some hesitance you finally nodded, “I’d like that,” and put on your scarf. Sans had his boots, scarf and oversized beanie on before you knew it. “We’ll be back in a bit,” the short skeleton called back up at Toriel who shouted ‘see you later’ back at you, causing you to flinch once more.

Stepping outside of Toriel’s home, you were pleasantly surprised. You hadn’t seen the town for over a week now, and even in such a short amount of time, it had already dramatically changed. It looked alive now with monsters everywhere, working hard to rebuild and patch up broken parts, paint over the houses and fences, plant new flowers and bushes and all were in high spirits. You stood still for a moment before Sans nudged you ahead and took you down the main road. You could feel him looking at you as you took in your surroundings, waving at the monsters that recognized you and wished you a good evening. They were working hard even when the lights had already gone out, with nothing but streetlamps and oil lamps to lit up their work.

“We’ve come quite far” Sans interrupted the silence as you reached the end of the street and walked into a more quiet area, “It’s all thanks to you.”

“Me?” you snapped your head in Sans’ direction with a puzzled look on your features.

“If you hadn’t broken the barrier or acted as our ambassador, we wouldn’t have gotten this town,” he clarified as a matter-of-fact. 

You shook your head, making a face, as you didn’t know how to reply to that other than with, “I didn’t do all of that. If it hadn’t been for you guys teaching me not to judge a book by it’s cover, and for supporting me over and over again, I wouldn’t have been able to push so far.”

Sans shrugged, “If you say so. But I dare say you’re giving yourself far too little credit.”

You chuckled and pulled up your scarf to hide your mouth. You hadn’t noticed until now how the noise levels were positively low, normal even, except for a few random bursts here and there. Falling into your own thoughts again you didn’t realize where you were walking until you reached the harbour and the sound of waves called you back to reality. You had almost forgotten about the large lake leading into the sea. It was a place you had visited as a kid, but as the town started to die out, your parents stopped taking you here. 

Sans found a bench near a large woodshed, which you presumed used to have old fishing gear stored inside of it, and offered you to sit down next to him. Here you both sat quietly and stared into nothing, except your eyes kept darting back and forth between the skeleton and the lake, and you couldn’t help but notice how his usually cool demeanour had been substituted with something more tense. It made you uneasy how that was presumably because of you.

“So… I don’t want to force you to tell me what’s wrong, but you’re obviously hiding something.” Sans spoke, his voice kind, “Toriel saw it too, but she won’t push you to it either. It’s just that… you look like someone who needs a full-disclosure chat.” He offered a grin. You looked down at your lap and replied with a short nod. 

Taking in a deep breath and leaning against the bench, you let out a deep sigh “I actually planned on telling you first… some day, eventually... I just wanted to keep it until after Christmas”

He didn’t say anything, looking closely at you to not interrupt.

“…It’s going to sound insane…” you warned him but he merely chuckled; “Try me.”

You bit your lip once more before speaking, “I think… I think I can do magic?”

Sans was quiet as he took it in before scoffing, a half-hearted chuckle escaping him “What?”

“I know it’s not possible and that only monsters should be able to do it, but some weird shit has been going on lately and I don’t know what it is or why it’s happening, but I’m pushing furniture and water around and I’m hearing all kinds of soundsandit’sgivingmeafuckingnightmare-”

Sans’s hand clasped over your mouth and you stopped your frantic babbling to look at him.   
“Okay, first off: Breathe. Second: you need to slow down, I’m all _ears_ but I’m afraid I’m not that good of a listener.”

You missed the pun as you instead focused on taking in another deep breathe and pulled you legs up on under you, “Sorry” he waved away your apology and turned in his seat to fully face you.

“I don’t know what it is but, I think it’s been going on for longer than I’ve registered it…” you started out, “…but I first noticed it when I was in the shower a week ago or so” you honestly couldn’t remember exactly when it had happened as you had lost track of time, but it sounded about right. You continued explaining about the weird incidence in the shower, and how the water had stopped hitting you, so you fell out of the shower and when you stuck your hand in again and began to hum, the water repelled you again.   
You went on to tell how you had decided in that moment to not tell anyone until after the Christmas break, until a few days ago when sounds around you enhanced and decreased in noise level for several hours a day, and when it stopped, all of your furniture had moved away from you like a wave had washed it away.   
Sans looked practically horrified with beads of sweat rolling down the side of his skull, causing you to force your eyes away from him to be able to continue the story.   
When you reached the part where the level of noise was finally relatively normal again, and you only flinched at the occasional burst, Sans interrupted, “is that why you sometimes flinch now?” and you nodded. Fuck he noticed everything.

You kept going, explaining how you were in the forest to get some fresh air, when you thought you head someone following you. When the noises became too much; you panicked and ran away. You didn’t know why, but you simply couldn’t make yourself tell him about the mask or the strange symbol you saw when you fainted, but it seemed like your story was dramatic enough already for Sans to take in more.

When you were done you folded your hands together again, cursing how much they were shaking and sucked in your lower lip to bite down on it.

A white hand slipped in between yours to tangle itself with your right hand fingers. Sans’ fingers were cold to the touch, but it only took a moment for them to warm up against your palm.   
“I don’t know what is it, but no matter what is happening to you, I’m going to make sure that it stops.” Sans spoke, his voice stern and deep as it practically rumbled through your ribcage.

You looked up from your hands to meet with Sans’ eyes and he continued, “It sounds a hell of a lot like magic, but that’s only speaking from a monsters point of a view” he frowned.  

“So you think it might just be in my head?” Having told the entire story had left you feeling incredibly exposed and fragile, but Sans made that okay. He allowed you to be broken in front of him without judgement, and you had a feeling that he knew how it felt to feel lost.  

“No” he replied with certainty, “doesn’t sound like it. I’m pretty sure you couldn’t make all of that up even if you tried to. Besides…” he gave your hand a little squeeze, a bead of sweat falling down the side of his head “I can feel something coming from your hand, pushing mine away.”

You were certain something popped in your neck with the speed you looked down at your hand and saw how it was vibrating in Sans’s grip, as he fought to keep his hold on it. “Oh shit.”

“Indeed” Sans huffed, his grin a little stiff. “Listen… I might have something at Papyrus’ and my place that can help you. It’s a temporary solution until there’s more time after all this Christmas chaos has passed. But that depends if what is happening to you, is actually monster related.”

You were focusing hard on your hand, concentrating to make it stop whatever the fuck it was doing, ”You have?” you absentmindedly inquired, glancing shortly at him.   
“Yes, but,” he used his free hand to grab your chin and turn your head, forcing you to look directly at him, “if it works: it is not a permanent solution.”

With a frown you nodded, “Got it.”

He looked closely at you, his eyes darting from one eye to the other before he got off the bench, “Let’s go then. You’ll be back to Toriel’s place for dinner” still holding your hand he pulled you off the bench with a smile and walked next to you, guiding you to his home.

The night seemed so much quieter now. Peaceful even. Looking down at your locked hands, you took in the moment and pulled sans to a halt. As he turned to you, confusion warped his features. “Thank you Sans. Really,” you murmured, and let go of his hand only to wrap your arms around his shoulders “it means a lot.”

The skeleton stood frozen in your grip for a moment, and you thought you had crossed the line until he eased and held you back, leaning his head against your shoulder, “It’s no problem.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally after a sans-less (wink wonk) chapter, Sans is back again! I'm not entirely happy about this chapter, but that might be because it's super late right now and I'm squinting at my screen to be able to read the words, BUT HERE IT IS ANYWAY. I might revisit it later and give it a bit of a polish 
> 
> Hit me up on thedustyleaves.tumblr.com if you want to chat about the fic or just chat casually, I love to discuss headcanons and hear your ideas! <3 
> 
> Critique and comments are, as always, encouraged! c:


	10. Decorations

The trip back was shorter than you had anticipated. It was probably silly of you, but you enjoyed walking with Sans more than you enjoyed the prospect of having your problem fixed.

The peace and quiet, and the feeling of being understood were just something you had sorely missed 

The skele-brothers’ new house was already fixed up plenty. Their front lawn was full of tools and materials, waiting to be grabbed at the break of dawn to continue the repair work. The only thing that was left on the exterior was to fix up the picket fence and paint over it, and in spring, the garden could get its turn. You imagined that Papyrus was the most eager to work on the house and was probably excited to soon have an actual garden with seasonal changes.

Speaking of Papyrus; the moment Sans opened the front door, you peeked in and saw the tall skeleton sitting in the couch, and he instantly turned his head towards you. He had looked immensely worried only a few seconds ago, but upon seeing your face, he eased up and his usual smile was back. With three long steps, he dropped his phone on the floor and gave you a hug, a soft and gentle one, something new compared to his usual tight squeezes. “You’re okay,” he stated, more as a fact for himself than a question for you.

Returning the hug you had to rest your head on his chest, as his shoulder was too high up to reach, and subtly you nodded, “Yeah, I’m alright now.” You didn’t know why or how he knew what had happened and looked to Sans. He seemed to get your wordless question and was ready with an explanation; “I told Papyrus about the text you sent me and he asked me to let him know if something was up. So, I texted him after I had brought you to Toriel’s place and you were still sleeping.” Sleeping was a nice way of saying; unconscious.

“But what are you doing here now?” Papyrus inquired, keeping his eyes on you. Before you could reply, Sans took over again, “we went for a walk and I just wanted to show them how our new home looked so far.” Sans looked almost pleadingly at Papyrus. It was only a few seconds of silence, but enough for you to catch onto it – Papyrus’ brows were furrowed with worry, and yet he gave a short understanding nod, turning his eye sockets back to you, “Do you want anything? We have tea, soda, cookies- there are some leftover tacos as well?” 

You flinched at the pitched _‘Tacos’_ but quickly hid with a smile, “Tea sounds good. Thank you, Pap”

His hands rested on your shoulders for a few second before giving them a squeeze, “Tea coming right up! You’re going to love this new flavour that Undyne brought us yesterday!” he left for the kitchen and Sans called after him, “I’ll just take them to my room, we’ll be back in a minute” and swiftly took your hand to lead you upstairs.

There was something unspoken between the brothers you couldn’t quite put your finger on, but it was admirable that they only needed a look to communicate what they meant. Although you did feel like you were kept out of the loop.

Sans’ room wasn’t dirty or messy as it had been in the underground; it was simply unpacked and full of boxes. The only things that were unpacked were his desk, computer and bed. He had to let go of your hand to lead the way through the box land “It’s like a labyrinth in here,” you commented as you stepped over a few boxes and heard him chuckle in response, “It makes entering the room exciting, yeah?”

“More like exhausting” you grinned and hopped over the last box to join him. 

Pulling out a small moving box from underneath his desk, he opened up a mess of crumbled paper, burn or torn pages, strips of cloth and in the middle of it all – a square black box, “aha- here it is” he gave a weak smile and turned to you, kicking the cardboard-box back to its place underneath the table.

“What is it?” You asked and he urged you over to his bed, asking you to sit down. 

“A bracelet,” he explained as he opened the box with a small click, revealing a beautiful silver bracelet; it was a thick ring with pushed in edges, making it look like it had melted inwards, seeming soft and pliable, but as he held it in his palm, it was obviously solid as silver should be, “-Oh and, Pap doesn’t know about this, so I’d appreciate if you don’t tell him where you got it from,” Sans spoke softly, a guilt nagging through his voice.   
“Of course.” If he kept something from Papyrus, a man he regarded higher than any other, you weren’t going to the be one giving his secret away, besides – it looked like it was killing Sans to even admit that he had a secret from his brother.

Sans smiled and gently reached down for your wrist, “-Can I?” he inquired. You gave a subtle nod and he proceeded to slide the bracelet onto your wrist. 

From the cold silver, a river of ice ran through your veins, cooling down your body and heart and easing away your headaches, thunderous voices and snapping noises. It happened so fast it could only be described as momentary goosebumps and such immense relief that you instinctually let out a breath you didn’t know you had kept. The bracelet shortly shone bright blue and Sans swallowed, “Well… we can conclude now that, whatever is happening to you, is, in fact, monster and magic related…”

You didn’t know if that was a relief or not and asked instead, “What’s the purpose of the bracelet?” 

“It keeps magic contained,” he sighed, “I had to use it once and I’ve kept it just in case… anyways, you should only wear it for a few days, a week tops, and then we have to figure out what to do after that.”

“Why’s that?”

“It stores the magic, so the moment you take it off, it all blasts right back into you. The longer you keep it on, the more magic you have to deal with sinking back into your body and it can be quite painful.”

“…Well that sounds like fun,” you gave a half-assed smile and Sans chuckled, “Don’t worry, I won’t let that happen. I’ll keep an eye socket on you.”

You smiled and looked down at your wrist, still held by Sans’ hands. You didn’t realize how wonderful his voice was until now when it wasn’t jarring or stabbing your eardrums. You thought you had gotten the noise level under control, but only now you realized just how loud everything had actually been before, and just what actual peace and quiet was. The saying ‘you don’t know what you got until it’s gone’, was truer than ever. “Thank you.”

He gave a subtle shrug and kept his eyes on your wrist, rubbing his thumbs over the bones. His expression turned to confusion as turned your hand in his, poking at your knuckles and then back up to your wrist, “…Do you have… _bones_ , underneath all this?”

You hadn’t expected such a question and snorted, “Yes? You didn’t know that?”

Sans’s eyed widened, “Nope,” he huffed, “I thought you were just… meat and skin and, other weird stuff?”

Laughing, you shook your head, “If I didn’t have bones all this meat and stuff would just plop together, like pfpfrrt-“ you demonstrated with a beautiful fart sound and a hand slammed down on the bed, causing Sans to laugh.

“Actually, that’s what puzzled me when I first saw you,” you remembered, “since; the only reason human can move their bones are because of our, ‘meat suits’, but I suppose it’s magic that’s moving you around?”

“Pretty much,” Sans chuckled, still fascinated by your hand as he moved his fingers over every single bone, counting them to see if you had the same number as him, “Incredible” he murmured, “is it like this for the rest of your body?”

“Yup” you smiled, “I have a skull and everything.”

He smiled at you. You hadn’t found your own body this interesting until now that Sans had made it an intriguing topic.  There was a knock at the door, “Tea is ready!” Papyrus informed, Sans replying right after, “Thanks bro, we’re coming now.” Letting go of your hand he walked through the mess of boxes, and you felt yourself missing his touch as you followed suit.   
Papyrus didn’t question what you had been doing upstairs, seemingly aware that it wasn’t his to know, and you couldn’t help but feel thankful for his humble nature. For now, you were okay with just one person knowing.   
The tea Papyrus had made was a Christmas tea with the taste of mint and cinnamon, and with a dunk of sugar it tasted wonderful. You sat on the couch in silence as you drank it, feeling slightly awkward from the silence that was growing, until Sans nudged his brothers side “did you know that the human has an entire skeleton inside of them?” and the rest of the conversation was basically you trying to explain, between laughs and snorts at their mesmerized expressions, how you had bones inside of your body. At one point, Papyrus took your hand just like Sans had done, and was positively shocked the moment he realized it was true; “So humans do descend from Skeletons?!” he exclaimed and you laughed, shaking your head, “No no, or well- maybe? I’m pretty sure we descended from apes… Or perhaps Adam and Eve…?” your answer didn’t help as both Sans and Papyrus looked more confused than to begin with, and you snorted, “I’m sorry, I wasn’t the best at this in school. I have an anatomy book at home though, if you want to borrow it?”

They both said yes and when your tea was finished, Sans lead you back to Toriel. All the monsters who had been outside working a few hours ago had all returned back to their homes and the town was quiet as ever –something you could finally enjoy thanks to the bracelet. You already felt much happier and energized than you had a few hours ago.

“By the way… Toriel is probably going to ask about what actually happened, but I can talk to her and tell her not to pry for now?” 

You had completely forgotten about that and sighed, glad that he took so many things into account, “That would be nice. I do want to tell her…just…”

“…not now. Yeah, I get that” Sans finished your sentence, and you smiled.

At Toriel’s place, you only had to knock once before Toriel opened the door with a warm smile and urged you both inside, leading you to the dinner table. She had made potato soup with newly baked bread on the side, and honestly, you couldn’t remember having tasted anything as heavenly as this in a long time. With your headache gone and constant fear of magical bursts, you could finally relax and the colour returned to your cheeks, colouring them pink along with your ears and nose. Drowsiness settled in quickly, your body finally happy that you no longer had to fight it, and screamed for a bed.

Finishing up your meal you thanked Toriel and she lead you to the bedroom, commenting on how much more relaxed you seemed, and if you needed anything, all you had to do was come into her room and wake her up.

When she left the guest room, you heard Sans’ deep voice ask her to follow him into the kitchen. The rest of the conversation you didn’t catch, as your hearing was now painfully normal, but you hoped it went down well. At least, Toriel didn’t visit you room after that and only wished Sans a nice trip home from the door before she went to bed herself.

You took off your clothes and put on the nightgown that Toriel had offered you; it was insanely big but looked rather adorable with how it swallowed you whole. Grabbing your phone from your pocket and settling into bed, you groaned first at the low battery, and secondly at the number of messages, you’d gotten from Matilde and Sans that he had ignored for the last day or so.

Matilde asked about the concert – the deadline for replying whether or not you could perform was yesterday, and you had a small moment of panic until you continued reading and saw that she had apparently gone ahead and signed you up, as it was easier to drop out then drop in. You quickly replied back that you were in and apologized for being so slow at replying.   
Sans’ messages were short but sweet, but the last one nagged at your guilt; _‘I’m worried about you. Say if something is wrong, I’m here for you.’_

That he was, you thought to yourself and thank god for that. 

Still, with him worrying so much about you, you weren’t sure whether or not you felt guiltier about making him worry, or for not being honest with him sooner. With all being said and done, you were happy with how things had turned out – at least for now. Now you just needed a charger for your phone.

It was the first night in a long time where you slept undisturbed, without anything or anyone troubling you. You slept until early afternoon until Toriel knocked softly on your door to wake you up with hot oatmeal for breakfast.

You sat in her couch for at least an hour and just listened to her briefing about how the development of the town had gone, and you wouldn’t have it any other way. It was nice to actually put your attention on someone else rather than yourself. The construction of the town was also incredibly intriguing. As you were part of why they could live here; simply knowing that they were all happy to be above ground, was the best early Christmas present you could ask for.

So far they had restored the gym hall, but they had to wait with the field until it was spring and they could work with the earth. Many of the stores had been rebuild, and when you asked how they even managed to get all the materials and tools, Toriel said that they came once a week with the patrol from the government and that they were in fact scheduled to come around sometime today as well.

“By the way!” Toriel clasped her hands together fondly, “Undyne, Alphys and Mettaton are going to come over today and help decorate the place for tomorrow. Do you want to help along?” 

“Sure!” You smiled, “Oh, perhaps you could ask Alphys to bring over her phone charger? My phone is dead and I left my charger at home.”

“You can just borrow mine. I had Alphys upgrade my phone, so she said all our phones should be the same,” Toriel replied and went for her room to pick it up, “There should be an outlet behind the couch.”  
  
“Thanks!” While you fumbled with the charger and rejoiced upon seeing your phone living once more, Toriel washed the dishes and afterwards found you a t-shirt and a pair of shorts that you could borrow for the day. It was all too big; the shorts reaching your knees and the sleeves of the shirt at your elbows, but with a belt it just looked like 90’s fashion and heck, it was comfortable as hell. 

Alphys, Undyne and Mettaton came not so long after, all puzzled but genuinely happy to see you; Specifically, Mettaton who scooped you up into a warm hug and asked about your cold, which thankfully was gone. In a matter of moments, you were all working hard to decorate the place, Mettaton taking the job of supervising the final look. Toriel’s home was incredibly kitsch with little figures of animals (that she didn’t know what were) and monsters and small human children in porcelain, ornately embroidered carpets and blankets and multi-coloured furniture. It had only been a few weeks above ground, but she had already gathered a number of weird stuff, that her home was a bombardment of knick-knacks everywhere. With the golden, red and green decorations, which they had all gathered from their former homes, it gave a clash of two cultures, monsters and human, that incredibly enough, fit very well together. As the final touch, Toriel brought in the Christmas tree she had kept in her garden to keep it fresh. Everybody took turns picking out bulbs, stars, hearts, and small signs that you needed explained what was, and slowly but surely you made it look like a proper Christmas tree. Alphys got the honour of putting on the star, lifted up by Undyne who seemed incredibly proud to carry her girlfriend like this.

When evening came, Toriel was in the kitchen again along with Undyne, making an easy dinner for the five of you, and you and Alphys had gone off on a tangent about manga.

“I swear it’s amazing! It’s not that well drawn at the beginning, but the further you get into it, oh man it’s beautiful!” You went on about one of your favourite manga’s GetBackers as Alphys nodded excitedly.

“You have to read it online though as the books are not printed in English anymore, but it’s super tough to find,”

“I don’t think you’ve seen Alphys’ Internet skills in action, dear” Mettaton chuckled causing Alphys to flush. 

Laughing you turned to her “If you find all of it, please send it to me because I’ve been struggling for years to get it all in proper resolution and actually translated!”

“I’m on it!” Alphys regained her voice, “Also- I think I saw it on your Facebook- not that I was stalking you or anything-!!”

“Oh c’mon Alphys, that’s what Facebook is for” you laughed.

She gave a nervous laughter before continuing, “it’s just that- do you cosplay? Because I uh, maybe would like to get into it, or at least, see what it is-“

“Yeah!” you exclaimed, “I well, I do it a little bit, but I’m not that good. My cosplay friends are amazing, but I mostly just do props and build stuff. Sewing is my undoing.”

“I thought it looked incredible! The armor with the fur lining you made was amazing!”   
if you could you would have sunken your head into your chest like a turtle, still too awkward to accept compliments and instead you made a noise of acceptance. You continued to chat and by the time the meal was on the table, Alphys was set on joining you at a convention someday, as it sounded like paradise to her. You honestly couldn’t wait for the day monsters were a familiar sight in the streets, just for moments like this. You wanted to bring them to conventions, the cinema, out to eat, bowling and more and not have them cooped up here in just a small town. They seemed happy, but still…

The meal consisted of meatloaf with vegetables on the side, but Mettaton simply joined for company, as he only needed to plug himself into one of the outlets to charge his battery for the day. 

“Oh, shit I just remembered something - “you hit yourself over the forehead, only to receive a disapproving look from Toriel and you pressed your lips together in shame, “I mean- oh dear?” You offered a weak grin, “I just need to text my parents, excuse me-“you went to the couch and pulled your phone out of the charger to text your dad.

You had completely forgotten that you had agreed to meet at your parents’ place tomorrow and then have them drive you here; but it seemed rather silly to walk all the way to their place, only to drive back here again, but they had the presents for all your friends, so you had to get them somehow; _‘Hey dad! I’m already at Toriel’s place- I had a sleepover here and stayed until today, is it possible that you can bring their presents here tomorrow? :s if not, then I’ll come to pick them up!’_

Crossing your fingers you waited for his reply, and you threw a fist in the air when you read it: _‘It’s fine, I’ll be there with them.’_  

Thank god for being the youngest child, a little dotting is never to be denied. You quickly wrote a thank you before a knock on the door pulled you out of it, “I’ll go get it” you said before Toriel could get up. You opened up the door to a police officer, whose smile was brighter than any of Rihanna’s diamonds.

“Oh hello there, good evening, I hadn’t expected to see a human here!” he spoke cheerfully, slightly reminding you of Flowey. “Is Toriel here by any chance?”   
  
The larger monster joined the conversation, standing tall behind you with her paw on your shoulder, “Yes, officer. How are you this evening?”  
  
“Good, good! Just checking in as usual. How has this week been? Everything in tip-top shape?”

“Indeed.” Toriel smiled, and you noticed her paw on your shoulder tensing.

“Glad to hear it!” He kept his smile as he looked inside the house and spotted your friends at the dinner table. Waving overly enthusiastically at your friends, while they vaguely returned the gesture. “Enjoying ourselves are we?” he looked to you and winked and you smiled in return. His eyes went back to Toriel’s and he straightened himself up; “Welp, I better be off then. Everything seems to be as it should, I hope you’ll enjoy the rest of the evening, and uh, Merry Christmas!”

He was gone before he had come and Toriel waved him goodbye, a sigh leaving her as she closed the door.

“Not happy about him?” you inquired, frowning up at Toriel and she shook her head, “No it’s not that, he’s just… well, he’s just doing his job, it’s not his fault.” 

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing at all dear, don’t worry about it.” Toriel patted your hair once and urged you back to the dinner table again, and quickly the idle chatter was back again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE’VE REACHED A MILESTONE! IT’S THE 10H CHAPTER WOHOO! 
> 
> I am blown away by the continous support for this fanfic, writing it has so far been a joy and it continues to be! 
> 
> I want to thank you all for the 61 comments, 285 kudos and 4523 hits!! aaaaAAAAHHHHH I am still blown away 
> 
> As always, critique and comments are continuously encouraged, and if anyone wants to chat or send me ideas for the fic/discuss head canons, feel free to hit me up on tumblr thedustyleaves.tumblr.com! <3


	11. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

On the morning of the 23rd, you visited Undyne and Alphys’s place to borrow a set of clothes. You had only just remembered the evening before, as the two were on their way out of the door, that you hadn’t brought along any nice clothes for the Christmas brunch. Thankfully Undyne pointed out that you and her were practically the same body type, except that she was taller and more broad shouldered than you.

It didn’t take long to find a nice set of clothes, neither did it take long to make a mess of their bedroom with the amount of clothes that Undyne threw around to find the perfect outfit. You ended up with a nice pair of black high-waisted pants, a white plain shirt and a black cardigan to go along with it. On the way out of the door Undyne gave you a tight gut clenching hug, and Alphys, busy with getting ready herself, settled for a softer variation of the hug. For a second, it felt like the lizard wanted to say something important with the way she was stuttering out her goodbye, but in the end she merely rushed out a ‘see you later!’ and off you went.

It was a beautiful day outside; perfectly chilly with a bright sun and freshly fallen snow, and back at Toriel’s place, the lovely lady offered you to borrow a few of her accessories to go along with your outfit. You ended up with a few silver accents that matched the silver bracelet.

As Toriel finished her part of the brunch, you decorated the table and waited for the rest to arrive with their own dishes. Your father arrived first with the presents for your friends, commenting on how lovely the town already looked, both the individual houses and shared grounds. “Oh thank you, everybody has worked so hard on making it presentable!” Toriel had replied.

Before he left, Toriel offered him half of one of the two butterscotch- and cinnamon pies, to which he commented, “Is this the same you baked for-?” he gestured to you and you smiled, “The very same! It’s really good, so you better report back what you think of it when you’re done eating it.”

“I’ll make a note of it” you dad smiled and gave you a kiss on the forehead and shook Toriel’s hand, “Thank you so much, Toriel, I hope you all have a lovely brunch. I’ll pick you up 5” he gave one last look at you before he left. 

As you closed the door you smiled to Toriel, “Thank you for giving them a piece, I’m sure they’re going to love it.”

“It’s the least I could do! I want your parents to like me” she replied honestly, looking almost ashamed.

“They already do, I’m pretty sure they liked you first before any of the others,” that visible brightened her eyes. It was true though, as your mom and dad had on several occasions said that they liked Toriel and Asgore the best, but that didn’t surprise you either. They liked people with authority and a sense of awe to them, and they also looked the least stereotypical monster-scary, whereas the skele-brothers had scared them the most to begin with.

You recalled how Sans had scared the shit out you the first time you met him, Papyrus as well, until you realized just how friendly they were if you let them be.

Speaking of the sun, the first to arrive were the brothers. Papyrus knocked on the door to the beat of Jingle Bells, and stepped in with a big grin on his face. He was carrying a huge tray of cupcakes and a bowl of spaghetti and over his shoulder hung a large sack with your present inside. With your rumbling belly, your focus was primarily on the food, and It had been such a long time since you had last had a taste of his spaghetti that you found yourself sorely missing it. Ever since he had gotten to the surface and practiced in the kitchen of your apartment, he had gotten increasingly better and more advanced with several new dishes, including his spaghetti.

Sans had made the cupcakes with a recipe from Toriel, and all of them were crudely decorated with askew trees, stars and blobs you honestly didn’t know what were supposed to be, “It’s Snowdin, can’t you tell?” he pointed at a completely white cupcake with the frosting melting off the side of it. 

Undyne brought a dish of vegetarian lasagne and Alphys a tray with peanut butter crispy bars. It shouldn’t have surprised you that Undyne and Papyrus wore matching Christmas sweaters.

Mettaton and Napstablook arrived only a moment later with Mettaton sporting a slick streamlined tux with a pink bowtie, and Napstablook wore a matching black bowtie. It had been so long since you had last seen your favourite ghost that you spent a good amount of time simply catching up with Blook and hearing about his newest music and planning dates to visit him on in the New Year. Napstablook had brought his own ghostly food and Mettaton had a longer chord for his battery, along with some delicious smelling stew. Asgore was the last one to arrive, and it always felt strange to see how incredibly awkward he felt in social gatherings that weren’t meetings or conferences. Suddenly his large stature was not one to respect or be in awe of, but an obstacle even for him. He looked like he wanted to shrivel up until a ball and float away, but he managed to get to the table and put down a large piece of meat, that you couldn’t name even if you tried to. It was apparently a traditional dish for the monsters you were told, and all you could tell so far was that the smell was nothing like meat, but something closer to mint, strawberry and citrus all in one. Toriel provided the rest; the bread, side dishes, drinks, sauce and several other components to the table, and you realized just how little you had provided; actually, zero. This whole panic about magical anomaly surrounding you had really come at a terrible time. It had completely thrown you off your groove, and you wanted to have prepared something big or special for this brunch, and you felt guilty for soon enjoying food you hadn’t contributed to.

You were pulled out of your thoughts when Sans caught your eye and gestured you over to the tree. All of the presents had already been placed there, the majority for you. It was going to be a tad awkward opening so many just for yourself, but the others wanted to save the rest of their presents for the actual Christmas day tomorrow. “How’s it going?” Sans casually asked you, his eyes travelling to your wrist and back up. Getting the point you nodded, “Good. It’s helped a lot” you smiled and he returned it.

“You look a lot happier. There’s colour on your cheeks again.”

You chuckled, “You might end up having to rip it off me. It’s working a little too well.”

Despite that Sans smiled back at you, the smile never fully reached his eyes, “Let’s eat for now.” He took your hand, as he had been doing a lot lately, and led you to the table, picking two seats where he could sit next to you.

On your left was Undyne, vividly telling the story of how she and Alphys had spent hours on putting up the last furniture in their house, to which Alphys added that it only took that long because Undyne refused to read the instructions, “Only weaklings read instructions!” Undyne huffed.

“Let’s eat up!” Toriel announced by the end of the table before she took her seat, and in a clatter of scraping, scooping and ‘hand me that!’: plates were filled and glasses emptied. At the rate you were eating and enjoying their food, there wasn’t going to be any room for dinner later on – but you’d have to face the consequence of that later.

Halfway through the meal, Sans turned to you, “So. I couldn’t wait for you to give us that anatomy book, so I went online instead. You humans have tailbones? But no tails?” you laughed in response, loving his eagerness “Yeah, we don’t need them.” 

“Don’t need them?” he lifted a brow – at least it looked like it. 

“Well if science is right, we used to originate from apes and stuff, and when we finally began to walk on two legs, we didn’t need our tails anymore to keep our balance so they shrunk away.” 

You hadn’t seen Sans looking so weirded out before and ended up laughing again. He regained his posture and continued, “wait, okay- so humans just… drop the stuff they don’t need?”

“In a way” you shrugged and stuffed your face with a muffin, “fheres’ shomfing challed mafrko and mifkro efvoluthion.”

Sans snorted, “Come again? I couldn’t hear you from the amount of muffin.”

Swallowing you tried once more, “There’s something called Macro and Micro evolution! Macro is huge changes in genes, but micro is small changes, all depending on circumstances. It’s best seen in Darwins birds-“ the lost look on Sans’ face made you stop and chuckle, “-I’ll tell you about it later.” 

“Sounds good.” 

Finishing up the main course, the savoury dishes were removed and replaced with the one and a half pie Toriel had made, and the remaining sweets that were left. Fresh coffee was brewed and you were about to ask if there was any Nutella but held your tongue. It was probably not the best time to let more people know about your strange habits and pull attention to yourself.

The chatter was loud and comfortable, and you mostly kept a conversation with Sans, talking about everything and nothing. Occasionally you chimed in on conversations where you felt you had a valid input to offer, but you always returned back to Sans. Althought somehow you managed to let yourself be persuaded into reviewing Mettaton’s sketches for new outfits, as he had recently taken up designing. Sans grinned as he spoke, “You know, they’re really good at draw-!” but your hand was clasped over his mouth before he could finish, “drawing…conclusions…and…stuff!” you finished his sentence. God that was bad.

Mettaton looked severely amused, even more so when you yelped at something _slimy_ touching your hand.

“YUCK! Holy shit, what was that!?” wiping your hand on Sans red ‘Sansta’ Christmas sweater, the skeleton wheezed from laughing too hard.

“My tongue!” he clarified, opening his mouth wide enough for you to see the blue substance glowing between his teeth.

“…you have a tongue!?” squinting your eyes, you did your best to show pure horror on your face, succeeding in making the ones sitting close to you, laugh. Success. You took an awful lot of pride in the grimaces your rubbery face could make 

“When I want to” he shrugged, a shit eating grin taking over his face.

“…Convenient.” You nodded sternly and convinced.

He snorted and covered his face with both hands, shaking from laughing and his skull glowing blue where there would have been cheeks. You found it rather endearing.

“PRESENTS TIME!!” Undyne shouted, successfully snapping you out of your little moment. Sans practically jumped off his chair and rushed to the tree, with you following right behind him.

The chairs were pulled over and Undyne, Alphys and Papyrus pushed in the couch to create half a circle around the tree. A few sat on the ground, including you who found a comfortable spot leaning up against Undyne’s legs. “I propose that you all open your presents first, otherwise it’s going to be really awkward if I open up everything at the very beginning!”

“Deal!” Papyrus excitedly exclaimed, “I’ll go first!” 

“We have to throw dices or do rock, paper, scissors!” You laughed, “at least that’s a tradition in my family. The one who wins then have to pick a present, WITHOUT their name on it-” you pointed at a very disappointed Papyrus, “-and then give it to that person. Then that person finds a new present and gives it to them, and so on.”

Mettaton clasped his hands together, “Sounds wonderful!” and although Papyrus agreed, he seemed rather reluctant to do so.

Sans won the rock, paper, scissor round and gave the first present to Undyne. As she saw the necklace, she instantly recognized the shape of her spear and let out an excited laugh, asking Alphys to put it on for her and thanking you plenty for the gift. Next up came Mettaton, whose gift was strung together with Nasptablook’s. The CD’s made them give an excited ooh, especially as you explained what they were and why you picked them. The headphones excited Mettaton the most, and the extra glitter rim was “-an excellent and absolutely delightful addition!” in his words.

It continued like this for the next hour, and every time a present was picked, you feared they wouldn’t like it, but you were too excited to see their genuine reaction to look away. Simply seeing their happiness was enough to send your heart bursting out through you. It was perhaps selfish of you to rely on others approval so much, but you supposed it was a good kind of selfish as it didn’t just benefit you, but the person you gifted as well.

Toriel squealed when she saw her snail apron and matching kitchen gear and she gave you the warmest hug and kiss on the forehead you had ever received. Papyrus’ gift had to be carried by Undyne to his lap, and everybody wondered what the heck it was until you told them it was an old iron pasta maker, and the stars in his eyes were practically visible. Asgore was humble and kind as ever, receiving his gift with utmost care, and thanked you most kindly for the tea.  
Alphys practically fainted as she received her special deluxe box-set and additional figurine of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie, and finally, Sans received his gift. It was in a small box, and compared to all the others, you hadn’t felt this nervous about someone opening their gift, ever.

Removing the wrapper and getting to the box itself, he eyed it for a bit (and “a bit” felt like a millennium for you), before clicking the lock open. The hollow rim of his eyes widened and the little white dots shivered for a moment, but he was silent for too long and you had to fill that silence with something!   
“It’s my soul!” you pointed at the bordeaux coloured heart, “and two bones behind it- I didn’t’ know what to give, and I just wanted to thank you for being such a great friend andIwantedtogivesomethingthatwasrespentativeofus, ooooohIdon’tknowman” you slammed your hand over your face.

Sans laughed kindly and smiled up at you, just like he always did when you began to mumble. There was a silence in the room – was everybody holding their breath, or was it just you?

Picking up the necklace with two bony fingers, he smiled, “It’s awesome. Thank you,” and easily he moved his hands to the back of his neck to lock the necklace around it. It fit perfectly, tight enough to sit firmly, and loose enough to drape over the edge of his Christmas sweater.

“uuuuuuuh~ someone’s is blushing!” Undyne sing sang the words and poked you with a shit eating grin, causing you to make a noise of distress, “Of course I am! I’m just happy that you all like your gifts, especially because I didn’t bring any food and all of you brought so much and I wanted to give something back and- STOP WIGGLING YOUR EYEBROWS.”

Undyne burst out laughing before wrapping an arm around you, “Thank you for the gift punk!” Papyrus took that as an invitation for a group hug and leaned over to join, thanking you like she had, and one after the other, the pile got bigger and bigger, until you were devoured by your monster friend’s bodies. You only had one arm free to pat Mettaton’s back in an awkward manner, and burst out laughing along as you tried to wiggle loose, wheezing ‘too much love!’.

When you were finally free and the monsters were back in their seats, Alphys reminded you, “It’s your turn to open your gifts now!”

Oh god, you hated this part. As much as you loved to open up presents, you hated having so many eyes on you, all expectant and full of curiosity – although you had stared at them the same way while they had opened your presents. You decided to go for them according to which one was closest to you and went for Sans’ present, as you swore it had been in front of you just a moment ago. Leaning to the side you saw it was behind the tree, and shrugged to yourself – you must’ve imagined it. Picking up a random present instead; you took the one from Asgore; a wonderful cup with intricate patterns trailing around it, and your name written over the handle. You had a cup collection at home and this would be a great addition. Smiling widely, you thanked him, and he bowed his head slowly to you, seeming relieved. Excited to continue you opened the rest of the presents. From Papyrus you got a basketball, you weren’t sure why, but he explained he hoped he could play with you one day when winter was over. Undyne and Alphys gave you the Hunger Games book trilogy that you had once mentioned you liked, and when you asked how they managed to get it, Alphys chimed in, “it wasn’t easy! We had to ask one of the patrols if they could get it for us, and thankfully they could.”

Toriel had knitted you a dark red sweater with wonderful Christmassy patterns and around the waist was all the different coloured heart-shaped souls… including your own in the middle. It left an impact on you that couldn’t be described. You swore you saw Asgore turn his head away when you took off the cardigan and pulled on the sweater on top of your white shirt. Napstablook gave you a teaser for his next CD and Mettaton some pink earrings shaped like M’s. Sans’s was last, and as you pulled the present over, you heard Alphys giggle. 

Opening the present you saw nothing but a bunch of rolled up toilet paper, newspaper, socks and other fluffy stuff “…If you wanted me to clean your room, you only had to ask” you shot Sans a glare, earning a laugh from your friends.

“The present is in there somewhere, but you have to search for it” Sans grinned. 

“Oh it’s one of _those_ presents” you chuckled and began to dig through the crap, but you ended up loosing patience and just threw it on the floor until you found a long thin box. Eyeing Sans, he scratched the back of his neck and nodded, urging you to open it. Carefully you popped it opened to find that inside was a golden-chained necklace with a triangular golden pendant, and in the very middle of it, was a tiny blue crystal. “Oh wow…” you murmured and took out the necklace to have a better look at it. Sans cleared his throat next to you, “I guess we had the same idea,” he kept on a stiff grin.

Instinctively you repeated his action from before and put it on, pleased with how it fit around your neck and how the pendant rested on your collarbone, “I love it.” You kept your eyes on him for a short moment before quickly looking around, “I love all of them! Thank you all so much, this means so much to me!” you were bad with sappy words, they never sounded quite right as you always ended up chuckling awkwardly when you tried to express your feelings, but thankfully they all knew and thanked you back.

There was still an hour until you had to go, so you helped Toriel clean away all the gift-wrapping paper (and rolled up toilet paper, news paper, and whatever-the-heck-this-is paper and socks), cleaned up the table and put back the chairs. Toriel brought out tea and cookies and asked everybody to join the table for the last hour, but Alphys took your hand before you could get there and asked for a moment of your time.

She looked so nervous, almost fearful of what she was about to do, thus you nodded and followed her up to the guestroom, not noticing Sans’s eyes following you.

“I’m sorry for pulling you away from the others like this,” Alphys started out and closed the door behind her, her hands fidgeting endlessly. You shook your head, “it’s no problem. What’s the matter?” although your brain was already screaming and running in circles, clawing through scenarios and occasions where you might have screwed something up or done something wrong that she could be mad at you for. Was it the breakfast you had made for her and Undyne a long time ago? Was it the present you gave her? Was it the wrong box-set edition!?

“It’s just that…I uhm…well” the lizard scratched the back of her neck, never once looking at you. Biting your lip you knew how terribly nervous she could get and sat down on the bed, patting the spot next to you, “Take it from the beginning, I have lots of time.”

Smiling appreciatively she sat down next to you and took in a deep breath, “You see… Yesterday I didn’t really notice it, but, I did see how you were wearing something new. I thought it was just my mind playing tricks with me, telling me it was similar even if it couldn’t possibly be…” she was evading the subject, causing you to get more confused by the minute.

“The bracelet you’re wearing…” your heart sank, “I didn’t mention anything yesterday, because I wasn’t sure, but today- I’m sure I’ve seen it before. It couldn’t be anything but it… can I ask, if- if Sans gave it to you?”

Alphys voice had gradually become a whisper, but her words were no less impactful on you.

“…He told me not to tell.” You replied, subtly giving her a yes and scanning her features for a reaction. The lizard had stopped her fidgeting but her hands were folded together and her teeth were scraping over her bottom lip as she nodded, “I don’t blame him,” She spoke again, “I helped…uhm- I was there, or well, very present during the uh… making of it.” She gestured to your wrist, “I just wanted to be sure, if it was it. If you’re wearing it, then there has to be a reason. And I want to be a good friend to you, as you are one to me, and offer my help if you need any.”

Alphys offered a sheepish smile. Her curiosity was killing her. She clearly wanted to know why you were wearing it, but she was respectful and kind enough to not ask and only offer her help. The huge stone that had been crushing your heart with fear for the conversation, had been lifted, and you smiled, “Thank you Alphys, I think I need to keep it between Sans and I for now… at least I want to ask him first what he thinks.”

She nodded eagerly and you continued, spilling a question you had forgotten to ask Sans, “But, do you know why it was made? I forgot to ask Sans.”

“Oh, uh, if he hasn’t told you, then I don’t think I should. It’s very personal to him.” Alphys frowned.

“Oh- true enough. I’ll ask him instead.”

She gave a subtle nod and followed you down the stairs back to the others. Sans was the first to notice when you came back down, and he caught your eye, waiting for a reaction before he gave a humble smile. He was about to speak, but was cut off by Undyne who shouted loud and proudly about a mistletoe she had just found and was now waving over Alphys’ head. If it weren’t because the dynamic duo made you happy, you would have been jealous with how they were smooching and causing a storm of ‘ew!’s from the rest of the table.

Undyne proceeded to fling the mistletoe into Mettaton’s face who promptly kissed his own robotic bicep, earning a star-struck look from Papyrus who found it a struck of genius.

The next twenty minutes passed all too quickly as everybody packed away their various utensils and put on their coats and hats to leave, and in the midst’s of the goodbyes, merry christmas and happy new year greetings, you received a text message from your dad that he was waiting outside in the car. “Time for me the go!” you announced to the only three remaining; Toriel, Papyrus and Sans.

You walked into the kitchen where Toriel and Papyrus were doing the dishes and hugged Toriel first, “Thank you so much for letting me stay here”

“Any time dear, there’s always room for you here.” She returned the hug, proudly wearing her new apron.

“And in our house as well! We have a new couch that can fold out to a double-bed!” Papyrus added, and you went to hug him next; “perhaps we should have a sleep-over then?”

Papurys squeezed you tighter, “I like the sound of that!”

Sans stood at the entrance to the kitchen and waited for you, hands in his pockets and a smile on his face. You rubbed the sides of your ribs as you walked with him to the door, and as you were putting on your coat, he spoke, “I wanted to add a little something to your gift,” he kept his voice low and nodded you over. Gently taking the pendant in between his fingers, the little blue jewel began to glow, “there. I put a little magic into it. Like this, you’ll know when I’m near. The moment it starts glowing, it means I’m close.”

That honestly left you speechless. You weren’t sure how to interpret it, but none the less it made you hide your flushed state with a chuckle, “and I thought my gift was cheesy.”

“It’s just a, uh, safety thing. Or something. I thought you might like it, to feel…safer?” he offered, his words trailing off and he averted your eyes, clearing his throat. He wasn’t used to not knowing what to say, that much was clear to you.

“It does,” you smiled, offering him some sort sense of confirmation.

He was quiet for what seemed like a millennium, still keeping his fingers on your pendant before pointing up with his free hand, “oh look, a mistletoe.” 

If you heart hadn’t been racing before, it sure was now. You were pretty sure what this meant. You looked up to see the mistletoe, hanging idly above your head with a blue aura keeping it up. You were also pretty sure that every cheesy chick-flick holiday Christmas lovey dovey Hollywood movie with mistletoes, that you had ever watched, were in fact suing this very moment for being a blatant rip-off, and what you had once thought was over the top and cliché in those movies, worked all too well right now to make your feel your face feel hotter than ever.

Looking down again, Sans was smiling sheepishly, the fingers around your pendant moving up to your neck, and ever so slightly, he angled his head up. 

This was perfect, so god damn perfect that you had completely forgotten the time and the knock on Toriel’s door from your impatient dad sent you jumping into the air with a yelp, clutching the left side of your jacket.

Wheezing from the sudden heart attack, Sans was the one opening the door and your silent moment was ruined as both Toriel and Papyrus stormed in to hear what had caused the sudden scream, “Nothing! I was just surprised!” you stammered. It surprised yourself just how much your hands were shaking and how hard it was to find your voice again. Your dad was simply chuckling, completely unaware of what he had just interrupted and found your shocked reaction humorous.  

Quickly waving goodbye to Papyrus and Toriel so they went back to the kitchen, you stood left with Sans and not knowing what the hell to do, you patted him on the head while mumbling, “Happy New Christmas!” and rushed to the car, practically jumping unto the front seat to escape the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to the holidays seasons, I might have to slow down with uploading until after new years! I'll try to keep up with one or two chapters a week, but I can't promise anything c:
> 
> Oh man, I'm nervous about this chapter in particular! It's hard for me to write ~moments~ that are heart warming etc but I hope I could make someone out there smile!
> 
> Happy holidays everybody! <3 
> 
> ps: sorry not sorry about the blue tongue, I just really dig that fanon addition to his design :'D


	12. Happy New Christmas

How on earth was it expected of you to be able to focus for the rest of the day after that disaster? You tried as best as you could to keep a casual conversation with your family, but your voice was a bit too high to pass as even remotely calm. You were already full from the brunch, and instead of eating you just poked at your food while being _too_ invested in the others life’s, asking constantly about trivial things to respond with loud oooh’s’ and aaah’s! Suddenly your siblings new mini garden was incredibly interesting, especially that addition of a tiny bean plant and the watering system they had put up all by themselves! You tried to focus on anything, anything at all, no matter how small, anything but the fact that you had patted Sans on the head, while saying Happy New Christmas. 

You had patted him on the head while speaking nonsense. Great

You wanted to scream. Was screaming allowed at Family dinners? Holy shit Sans must be thinking that you were such a dick right now. Why on earth had you even done that? What possessed you to make your hand pat his empty skull!? Just what must he be thinking right now, since you PATTED HIM. ON. THE. HEAD.

And he had tried to kiss you.

And you patted him on the head.

He had definitely done something with that mistletoe to make it diddle daddle over your head.

And you patted him on the head.

Man he had looked so gentle and nervous when he smiled up at you.

But never mind that because you had screwed up everything by PATTING HIM ON THE HEAD WHILE MUMBLING NONSENSE.

“Hello?” your father chuckled and waved a hand in front of you, trying to gesture for the water. “Oh- sorry!” you babbled and quickly handed it to him, returning back to your inner explosion.

Maybe he hadn’t tried to kiss you- at least it wasn’t something you should put too much thought into right? It was Christmas after all, and perhaps he just tried to ease up the tension and make things less awkward after putting that magic into your pendant- oh man that had been such a sweet gesture.  
You fingered the pendant between your index finger and thumb- wait fuck, back to topic.

Okay so, the mistletoe was definitely just his way of putting attention back on Christmas and away from the pendant. And if he did intend to kiss you, he might as well have gone for your cheek, right? Or perhaps your forehead like Toriel sometimes did? You were expecting too much, heck you were thinking about the possibility of kissing a skeleton, well that was just fucking stupid, and you were not what he would ever go for at all right? You were a human! The pendant was a sweet gesture, the mistletoe was a distraction and a holiday spirit gag that your dad interrupted, nothing more. Yes. Good. Now came the hard part: you just had to stop thinking about it.

The pre-Christmas dinner was all too slow, but it also served well to calm you down as no phones were allowed during the evening. No wait scratch that, it made you more anxious than ever. You kept thinking about what text messages he might’ve sent you, to try and pick on you for the patting, or if he scolded you for being so awkward – wait no, why would he scold you, it was just a mistake, nothing more, right?

So when the clock struck 12 and everybody had gone to bed, you could finally fetch your phone and was almost disappointed to see that there were no messages left for you whatsoever. 

Frowning you found Sans’ number and started texting, then deleted the text, tried again, deleted it again, tried, deleted…. Put the phone away and grabbed it again and groaned some more before trying to type and finally settled on; _‘Sorry about that awkward pat at the end! My dad scared the living fuck out of me. Thank you for the necklace, it means a lot to me. You’re probably already asleep so, sleep well!’_

You really hoped he wasn’t asleep and reluctantly let go of your phone to put on your pyjamas. Was the message too desperate? Was it too stiff? Did it even sound like you?

You received a text from him and threw yourself down on your bed, opening the text:

_‘Don’t sweat it, you were quite obviously pat-trified. And likewise. Btw, I’m sorry about the mistletoe thing if it freaked you out, I only meant it as a friendly joke.’_

Oh, so it was a joke. Well, that was good news. Now you could stop worrying about it. It stun though, why did it sting?

_‘No worries, I figured that was it :)’_

_‘Great. Welp, sleep well!’_

That sounded rather restrained… okay, you were definitely putting too much thought into this 

_‘Sleep tight <33’ _

And you were trying too damn hard, weren’t you…

Fuck this, this was going to bother you endlessly. You tried to sleep, you really did, but you could only handle an hour of staring into nothing and wondering if Sans was bothered with you before you texted him again _‘Sorry if I’m waking you up, but do you want to come to the concert thing on the 26 th? I think I can sneak you in backstage or something so no one sees you?’ _

There was a reply only a minute after, _‘I’d like that (:’_

_‘Awesome!’_

Finally you could relax, and your heart seized its frantic beats. Although, how to actually get Sans in there was the next big problem, but you’d have to figure that out later, as you were finally relaxed enough to fall into a deep sleep.

After what felt like too short of a night, the great-organized chaos of Christmas celebrations began.

In your family, Christmas day and evening was celebrated in a Scandinavian manner, to honour your Danish ancestry. You had very little connection to any of the Scandinavian countries yourself, and only knew a few words in Danish such as “Skål” and “Øl”, but Christmas had always been like this. Your mother, grandmother and aunt were in the kitchen the entire day, baking, cooking, stewing, boiling and making heavenly food for the lot of you, while the rest of the family rested until midday before preparing the rented summerhouse. Your dad drove the Christmas tree from your garden to the summerhouse, where you and your siblings spend the next couple of hours decorating it with bulbs and various festive (and incredibly strange) decorations from all over the world. Your family had always travelled a lot around Europe, but never in the states despite that’s where you came from.

You figured it was because of your Danish ancestry, but you had only ever been to Denmark once with your grandmothers, but been countless of times to Italy, Spain and France, and a few times or only once to Poland, Russia, Estland, Holland and Germany and so many other countries you couldn’t even remember right now. This is what resulted in your multi-cultural rainbow barf Christmas tree that could be seen from miles away, and you made sure to send pictures of it to all of your friends and put photos up on your facebook. One person commented _‘I can see the Christmas, but where is the tree?’_ sending your father howling with laughter. Dad approved joke of the day. 

At four pm you all sat down and watched the Christmas show they always sent at the same time every year with the same clips and shortfilms, but it was funny every single time, and at five pm you were ready to eat. With so many people around a long table, there was no such thing as awkward silence or quiet moments as at least three people were always talking and exchanging stories. For desserts, your nephew won the almond in the Ris a la mande, and by seven pm, you were gathered around the Christmas tree to sing and dance around it before you all sat down, ready to unpack the presents while watching Christmas movies in the big screen TV.

Throughout the day you had received constant messages (thankfully phones were allowed this evening, as your aunties kept arguing for it) from your monster friends, letting you know how things were going and what presents everybody were getting, and every time you opened your phone you realized that you still had the photo of you kissing Sans’s head as your background. Quite hastily you changed it to a black and white photo of the Christmas tree instead, as it suddenly felt inappropriate. 

Many of the photos you received were selfies from Papyrus where he had dragged in the other monsters, I.D, Burgerpants, Doggo, and your favourite little monster kid; all monsters whom you hadn’t spent enough time with. Toriel made sure you received photos of all the food and decorations, and you replied back with the same photos for her. 

The unpacking of the presents continued until midnight, as all of you had to unpack at least ten presents each and you had to wait for your turn and watch one present get opened at the time. When the evening was over, you all drove back to your separate homes, and you to your parents place, with all of your presents, stuffed and exhausted and ready for bed. It was a Christmas eve well done. You honestly hadn't realized that Christmas had even happened as it all seemed to have passed too fast, but it had felt like a lovely evening non the less. You hadn’t received a lot of messages from Sans, but you guessed that he was busy, or hoped rather. You stayed up for far too long on tumblr and wished various people Merry Christmas and listened to music, just waiting, and when it was 2 am, you received a much awaited message from Sans;

 _‘I gave Pap some human children’s books. So far the one with the fat bear that gets stuck in the door every time he has a meal just scares the shit out of him.’_  

It took you a moment to realize what he was talking about before you texted him back:

 _‘Do you mean, Winnie the Pooh?’_  

 _‘Yeah that one. He likes the H.C. Andersen stories a lot better p:’_  

_‘Oh dear, don’t read him The Little Match Girl or The Fir Tree unless you’re both prepared to cry buckets of tears.’_

 It took ten minutes before you got a reply back.

_‘…….I thought they were supposed to be children’s stories.’_

_‘You dork! Which one did you read?’_  

_‘Only the first few lines of match girl and it’s already horrible!’_

You had to bury your face into your pillow to prevent yourself from laughing; _‘Hahaha! That’s how his stories are! The Brothers Grimm stories are not any better, in fact all children’s stories are quite gruesome.’_

_‘Humans are weird as heck…’_

_‘Well, you’ve seen a 1 st class weirdo up close so I can’t really deny that.’_

_‘Nah, you’re a 1 st class piece of art.’ _

You had no idea what to reply. Fuck, not answering was going to be awkward, oh shit and dragging out the time between replies was even more awkward- oh fuck he had already replied.

 _‘I meant wart.’  
__‘No, cart.’  
__‘NO. FART.’  
__‘Auto correct. I blame Auto correct.’  
__‘asdfgzhjda fuck’_  

You snorted so loud you thought your parents would wake up, _‘Give your hands some rest you fart (art, cart, wart), I’ll call you tomorrow to talk about the concert v u v’_

 _‘kk! What’s Uvu?’_

_‘Tomorrow u w u’_

_‘…not fair’_

The night was far too short and it didn’t surprise you that you woke up with your phone smacked on your face. The fact that you hadn’t moved all night was the biggest surprise, but Matilde quickly made up for that as she was the reason for your early rise as she called you at seven and your ringtone had scared you enough to make you fall out of bed. She picked you up at eight and practically dragged your sorry ass to her apartment, where her three friends that you had yet to get acquainted with, John, Sam and Kim, were preparing their drums, guitar and bass, respectively. Matilde herself played guitar as well, and you could play a bit of piano although it had been months since you had touched one. Thankfully it didn’t take long to get used to it again and it came quite naturally, and with how energetic and ready to get going that Matilde was, it wasn’t awkward meeting her friends either.  
You all bonded over the music and laughed whenever someone fucked up and cheered when someone excelled at their instrument. Apparently Matilde had met them only a few weeks after you had gotten lost in the underground. She had been out partying, and they met over a drink and started talking about the post-Christmas concert at a local bar, which now, there was only one day left for.

Shit. There was only day left.

“Mati! I still don’t know what to sing!” you suddenly realized and yelped.

You had just finished a one-hour session of practicing three of their planned songs, and with you it would add two more that they hoped you could sing, if only you actually had some fucking songs to sing!

“I knew you’d say that!” she laughed and walked over to her laptop, being careful not to trip over the many wires scattered across the floor, “which is why I already picked some out, and because you don’t have any suggestions yourself, you have to pick two out of these!” she pointed a finger at you with a stern face and you laughed, “fair!”

Thank god she knew what you liked to sing. You ended up picking the jukebox version of Tove Lo’s, Habits, and Seven Nation Army; songs that were in the same vocal register as you and had the same pressure on the notes that you liked to sing as well. 

The next two hours went with practicing those two songs, both for you and for the band. The hardest part was warming your voice up and trying to make it stop cracking as it hadn’t been used for ages, and especially getting over your nerves. It was fine to perform as long as you were only just four but the actual concert... you didn't want to think about it. After the first thirty minutes had passed, you were on a roll. It was fun actually. You were excited and ended up loving it, and even hearing your own voice through a speaker felt like something normal and nostalgic again.

Practice was put on halt for a pizza and soda break where you all watched John trying to beat Witcher 3 on nightmare level, while Sam fed him pizza pieces. You felt like you had a bit or normalcy back in your life again. How long had it been since you had hung out with humans? It felt weird though, to separate your friends like this, but when you hung out with humans, it almost felt like everything that had to with monsters were just a dream or a figment of your imagination. You knew that wasn’t true, and you were happy that they were as real as yourself, but you wished these aspects of your life weren’t separated into two universes. They were so darn close and yet so terribly far from each other.

Before you had to go, you went through one last practice round, all five songs after each other, and once satisfied, you took your leave. They let you take the keyboard home to keep practicing until the next day, otherwise you would get too nervous about screwing it up on the actual day.

Matilde walked you all the way home, carrying one end of the keyboard while you carried the other, and hugging you goodbye at the door she reminded you, “remember; five pm at my apartment! I got you an outfit so we match, bring good spirits, the keyboard, you and your voice and it’s going to be: GLORIOUS!!” she roared the last word, momentarily reminding you of Undyne.

Your parents greeted you from the living room, both busy reading their new books and enjoying the post-Christmas vibe of being lazy with no one judging them. Putting away the keyboard in your room you brought out your phone to call sans, but while you dialled you suddenly felt worried. Texting was one thing, but actually talking… now you could hear his voice and reactions a whole lot clearer. Now you could confirm whether or not he was angry or awkward with you, as that mistletoe-and-patting-him-on-the-head incident still tore away inside of your mind.

“Yo, fart”

You snorted. Alright, he wasn't angry or awkward. “Hey, dork. Ready to plan your sneaky entrance?”

“Throw it at me.” His smirk was evident in his voice.

“I uh… well, I actually don’t know how the stage thing looks, since I haven’t been there before, but maybe you could wear that scarf and beanie disguise again and come a few minutes after me. Then I’ll open the backdoor and let you in or something?”

“I have a better idea,” he easily said, evidently having waited for the moment to say this, “You do know I’m pretty good with shortcuts right?”

You face-palmed, loud enough for him to hear it, “Right. You can teleport. Me is smart.”

Sans laughed, “Anyways. If you just go there and find a place where I can hide or something, then just message me and I’ll appear right in front of you a few seconds after.”

“Awesome! Wait- how does that even work?”

“Oh yeah, I never explained that to you did I? Welp, monster magic is always connected to souls, usually just our own, but mine branches out a bit,” he waited for some sort of noise for him to continue, “if I get to know a soul well enough, I can search it out and find it. I’m pretty sure I can find yours by now. As long as it’s not further away than your apartment tough, I have a limit.”

That somehow warmed your heart, “it’s not, the bar is like, in the middle of my apartment and the old town actually. But that’s really cool! Is that how you got to those sentry stations as well?”

“Nah, I just remembered the location of those. I don’t always have to follow souls to teleport, I can also go to places I’ve been to before as long as I remember them.” 

“But not new places?”

“Nope, if you say ‘go to Paris’ that won’t happen. It’s also too far away” He chuckled and god you hated how you loved that sound.

Your chat went off on a tangent as you said ‘bummer’ as Paris was such a lovely town, and he knew only what you had told him before on some random night back in the underground. You explained how you could finally show him pictures from your laptop and properly explain all the places that you hoped to someday show him and all the others, and man, there were so many places you had to bring them to when the world was ready for it.

You had to hang up when your mom knocked on the door and called that dinner was ready, “Gotta’ go, it’s dinner time. Say hi to Paps from me!”  
  
“I will, and say hi to your parents. See ya’ tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A long note this time!  
> It’s the day before christmas! (at least it’s the 23rd here, haha) This is my christmas present to all of you and I hope you enjoy the last chapter before the big concert coming up <3 Things have slowed down and perhaps gotten a bit boring, but after the concert, the plot will advance again! I’m also trying to keep most of the characters I add genderneutral, like the siblings and two of Matilde’s friends (sam and kim) so you have some freedom with how you want to see those characters! 
> 
> And soon it’s my birthday!! Only 6 days left and I’ll have leveled up! :DD
> 
> As always, if you want to contact me, send me head canons or ideas for the fic, just write to me on thedustyleaves.tumblr.com or in the comments below! Comments and critique are always encouraged <3 
> 
> I also draw, so if you want me to illustrate something from the fic, drop me some suggestions below! If it’s something with reader in, maybe give me some ideas on how to portray them, or if I should try to not include them in the drawing? c: 
> 
> I hope you’re all having an awesome holiday season!
> 
> PS: Avicii - Addicted to you, is my new SansXReader OTP song, the lyrics are just so perfect especially if it’s the reader singing it cough


	13. Already?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> check out this amazing piece of fanart done by HoiImKar!!! http://dustyfanfics.tumblr.com/post/139375672748/hoi-madame-author-it-is-i-hoiimkar-from-ao3 It’s so amazingly sweet and portrays the first time Reader kisses Sans on the forehead! I’m still giggling <3

The outfit that Matilde has chosen was perfectly simple; black pants, a black t-shirt and a fake leather jacket with your own personal touch of Mettaton’s earrings and Sans’ necklace. Getting to the bar was just as simple, even putting up the equipment for all the other amateur bands was a breeze and greeting them just the same.  
But calming down your heart that was beating faster than a rabbit having fun times on Valentines Day; was a fucking nightmare. It was strange how fast Christmas had already passed and become a thing of the past, you hadn’t even heard about Matilde’s Christmas Eve yet or what presents she had received, but you were both too occupied to even think about it.

You walked in circles, back and forth, through the empty tables in front of the stage and back up to the stage, behind the stage and the large curtains, and back out to the tables again, until Matilde stopped you; “Stop pacing! You’re making me dizzy!”

“I’m nervous!!!!!” you gripped her shirt and let out a dying whale noise and she shook your harshly, “Get a grip! You can do this! You’re awesome! We’re awesome! Now take a shot!”

The bartender had come early to serve the bands free drinks before the concert, and eyed you rather strangely at the mentioning of shots. He obliged though, and with a smirk, put up two liquorice shots that you and Matilde downed with a grimace. “That was as terrible as I remember them” you gritted your teeth and Matilde laughed, “worse than your stage fright?”  
“GOD NO. YOU MADE ME REMEMBER IT!” you pushed yourself away from the bar and proceeded to go backstage again, which was only two small rooms separated by large heavy curtains, and there was a bathroom at the very back. It was a small and cosy bar, but that didn’t matter when you could hardly focus on any of that.

And you still had to find a spot where Sans could stay.

You had already taken a good look around, and the only places where no one would come and disturb him, and where he could still see the stage, would either be above the stage hanging in the metal cages, or behind a large rolled up curtain right next to the stage. You settled for the curtain and when no one was looking, you sneaked behind it and smiled at how it was slightly see-through from the inside. You stood there for a few minutes, to check if anyone would notice you were there, before you texted Sans; _‘I found a spot!’_

There was a soft blue glow from your pendant, and only a second after, Sans stood in front of you, successfully making you jolt. 

“Sorry,” the skeleton chuckled but you shushed him, and Sans put a hand over his mouth, still grinning.

Whispering you replied back, fingering your pendant endlessly “so this might not be the best place, but it’s the only one where you won't get seen. I’ll find a chair and push it in here for you.” 

“It’s fine, and close to the stage and everything.”

You smiled and finally had time to take in his outfit, “Damn.” Your eyes widened as you noticed his dark jeans and black sweater with a matching dark grey beanie. It looked darn fine on him.

Sans gave you a bow, “I do try sometimes. Be careful, you might turn your fingers to crisps like this,” he put his bony fingers over yours to seize their frantic movements over the poor pendant.

“Oh- sorry- I’m just so fucking nervous!” you hissed, “I’m going to faint, die, wake up as a zombie and exit out through that window as fast as I can the moment I touch that stage!”

Sans snickered, “That would be pretty impressive.”

“Feel this!” you took his hand and put it over your chest, “My heart is going crazy!”

You seemed to have broken Sans as he stood frozen on the spot, his cheeks glowing in the dim light. “Your heart?” he questioned, flattening his hand to feel the beat of it closer.

“Yes, it keeps beating like fucking elephants trampling- oh you don’t know what a heart is?”

“I know what a heart-shape is but… no, not really. It feels amazing though” He grinned at you.

Matilde shouted your name, there were only twenty minutes left. “Oh shoot!” you hissed, “okay we’re the third band performing, so there’s ten songs you have to listen to first, is that okay?” 

“It’s fine, just get out there!” he chuckled and watched you slip away.

Both you and Matilde needed at least half of the time left to just scream, jump up and down and shake off the nerves, along with five other singers you didn’t know who were, but quickly bonded with through your inhuman screeches.

Before the guests came in, you managed to slide in a chair for Sans, and before you knew it, it was time to get backstage and wait for your turn.

The first band was amazing. The manager had arranged the order so they performed according to genre, so it started out relatively light, then transitioned into the more jazzy tunes, and finally into rock and rap.

The second band was even better, and you exchanged a look with Matilde of fuck-shit, and she gave you the same, grimacing just as much. You were happy that the other bands were good, but you also felt like trashing their music just so there weren’t’ such high expectations for your own performance. But there was no time to remain nervous and plan vicious plans, as all too soon; it was your turn.

You were immensely happy that you could hide behind a piano for the first three songs, so you could spend some time getting used to being on the stage while Matilde sang with her fantastically rough and dramatic voice. You also hoped that the next bands coming after yours would be horrible, just so the audience could remember yours as being slightly better than horrible. 

You tried to remind yourself that Sans was watching as you played so you had to try and do well to impress him, only as a friend of course, but that only made you even more frantic and you had to put your only mental task on the piano.

You screwed up a couple of times, but nothing that anyone noticed but you, as you quickly caught up and glided your fingers over the keys as had it been on purpose.

By the end of the third song, the dawning realization came that now it was your turn to sing, and when you finally stood by the microphone you took it one hand, took in a deep breath and smiled; “I’ve always been told to let people know when I’m nervous, as that is supposed to take off the edge of it so uh; I’m about to shit myself, and here is Habit by Tove Lo.” The audience laughed and clapped. Thank god that they did. You were pretty sure you could hear Sans snicker as well.

It felt wonderful to finally sing, better than you had hoped for. The moment you were finally into it, you decided to give it your all, popping your hips to the beat and moving your hands to the rhythm, emphasising lines from the song and making a show out of it. You couldn’t see the audience that well due to the spotlights being on you and neither did you pay too much attention to them. It all passed faster than you had anticipated, and by the end of the second song, you held hands with your band members, bowed and left to whistles and loud claps. It almost felt bad walking off stage as you were finally in a wonderful rush and ready to keep performing, but you were also anxious to hear if Sans had liked it.

You practically jumped backstage along with the others, and Matilde took your hands to make a soundless scream while the guy who owned the bar announced that there would be a 15 min break before the next band comes up. John gave you a high-five and praised you so much you felt your face heating up, but you couldn’t stay and talk as you had to go find Sans behind the curtain.

Everybody were busy packing up, and they barely noticed you slipping away. At least you thought so, but you only reached the edge of the curtain before John had caught up with you and held your elbow, “Hey- sorry for stopping you like this, but I have to go in a minute, and I just wanted to ask if you perhaps wanted to go and see a movie together? I have two tickets at home just waiting to get used.” His smile was so genuine that you were speechless for a second before replying, “Oh- sure, that sounds nice.”

“Great. I’ll just find you on Facebook and we’ll figure something out”

“Sure, see ya’ later, John!”

“See you!” he slid his hand down your arm and gave your hand a squeeze before letting go, and rushed backstage to fetch his stuff.That had felt really weird and you couldn’t help but grimace and rub your hand where he had touched it.

Behind the curtain, Sans was sitting there with a straight back and a stiff grin on his face. “Hey! Sorry about the wait- are you okay?” you frowned as you noticed his hands were fisted. As by the push of a button he loosened up and shifted a bit on the chair, “Of course I am; you just sang like an angel.”

You chuckled, “Do you even know what an angel is?”

“I’m not totally oblivious to your culture” he winked, “but I mean it, that was great. I didn’t know you could play piano?”

“I haven’t had a lot of time to do it lately,” you admitted and brushed a lock of hair behind your ear, “but thank you. Was it very obvious when I messed up though?”

“I didn’t notice a thing,” he smiled, “You were flawless.”

You smiled, not knowing what to say and simple kept looking at Sans, but the skeleton was just as silent as you. It was only when his eyes dropped to your wrists that he started talking again, “Oh right. We need to get that off of you,” He frowned and took your hand to look at the bracelet, “Can we do it today? Or tomorrow perhaps, you’ve had it on for quite some time.”

Biting your lip you nodded, although you really wanted to keep it on. You were not ready for what would happen when it was going to be taken off, “we can do it today. I can just let my parents know that I’m having a sleepover at your place?”

“Sounds good. Did you have a good Christmas, by the way?”

“Mhm, it was cosy. You?” the question seemed so pointless when the focus was clearly on the bracelet.

“Yep. I got a ton of photos to show you.” He grinned, “anyways, go grab your stuff, I’ll just teleport us back to our house.”

You did as asked, but you couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed that the talk about the concert had gone by so fast, as you would have loved to discuss the music you and the other bands had played. Especially when Sans had looked so angry when you opened up the curtain?  
You grabbed your stuff backstage, messaged your parents and hugged Matilde goodbye. She whined about how she wanted you to stay and party with her, but you made up a quick exscuse about how you had urgent business to attend to with your uh, parents… cousins…dogs? She didn’t buy it and only allowed you to go, if you someday told her the story of why you had to leave, and that you promised her. Welp, that was definitely going to be a strange story to tell.

As you walked back to Sans with your jacket and bag over your shoulder, you recalled just how much clothes you had borrowed from people these days and that you needed to return it to them.

He gently took your hand and asked you to close your eyes as always, and that familiar sensation of being pulled through thick water enveloped you. Teleporting felt weird as fuck. You had only tried it a few times in the underground, but it didn’t get any less weird the more you experienced it. Sans dragged you forward one step and you could finally open your eyes, and the first thing that hit you was the cold. You thought you were going to arrive in Sans’ room, but instead you stood in front of Alphys’ and Undyne’s home, “I thought we were going to your place?” you questioned.

Sans shook his head and held your hand a little tighter, “I’m pretty sure we’re going to need Alphys’ help for this, I don’t have any lab stuff left anyway.” 

You frowned; recalling some of the notes you had read in the old labs in Hotland, describing how Sans had once worked there along with Alphys. Back then, you had asked him briefly about it, but he had only confirmed it and never explained what he did there or why he quit. “I forgot to mention that she asked me about the bracelet during our Christmas brunch.”

“I figured that had been it,” he nodded, “I would have done the same.” he let go of your hand to knock on the door and the first person to open it was Undyne who smiled broadly upon seeing the both of you, “Hey there punks! What brings you to our door so late?” she propped her hand on her hip. 

Sans grinned, “We were wondering if Alphys is home? I got a favour to ask of her.”

“A favour, huh?” Undyne lifted a brow and looked over her shoulder, “Hey Alfie! The shortie and the human is here for you!”

“So I’m the shortie. Neat-o.” Sans hummed to himself.

Alphys came not long after, a dirty apron with an explosion of colours wrapped around her and her glasses askew, “Yes, I’m here!” she hurried to the entrance and took over Undyne’s spot, “S-sorry about this mess, I’m not as good in a kitchen as I am in a lab it seems ahaha… anyways, what can I do for you?” she asked while taking off the apron and fixing her glasses. 

It was only when Undyne was out of earshot that Sans replied, simply by taking your wrist and showing the bracelet, “think you can help with taking this off?”

Alphys usually stuttering and fragile demeanour changed as she gave a stern nod, “come inside." She stepped aside to let you both in, “We’re going down to the basement lab!” she called back to Undyne who had seated herself back on the couch in front of the TV. Undyne gave a lazy wave, not even looking back at you as you walked past the kitchen to the door leading down the stairs to the basement.  
Most of Alphys’ lab was upstairs, at least the stuff that was safe to work with in the living room, but the rest was all stored in the basement. It hadn’t taken long to line the walls, floor and ceiling with hard protective panels, and put down countless of tables for flasks, machinery and gizmos and gadgets everywhere.

There were two couches and Alphys lead you over to the biggest one, asking you to sit down and put away your coat and leather jacket.

Alphys rushed away, and Sans was now titling back on forth on his feet with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his pants while watching Alphys scurry about. You bit your lip and unintentionally caught his attention, but he averted his eyes again. Taking a breath you asked a question, “You didn’t tell me a lot about it, Sans.” He forced himself to look at you as you continued, “Why was it made?” 

Alphys stopped in her tracks briefly before continuing gathering materials.

“I guess I do owe you a proper explanation,” Sans rubbed the back of his head and sighed, “I can’t tell you a lot, it just… hurts a bit too much. But uh, it was made for me.”

You bit your lip again and nodded, urging him to continue.

You heard him take in a deep breath and he replaced his rocking back and forth with pacing back and forth in front of you instead, “Alright so. You know I worked with Alphys once, yeah? Well, an accident happened and I stopped working there. Due to that accident, my magic went haywire. It was uncontrollable.” Beads of sweat formed on his skull, “Alphys and I had already been working on that bracelet for other reasons, but the project was put on halt for bigger things, but due to my state, she finished it up, changed its properties slightly and made it so it kept my magic in control, until I could learn to control it myself. That’s the short version.”

It didn’t surprise you as much as it probably should have, but it was mostly how much was left of the story that worried you. Sans kept back a whole lot of things, and even mentioning this small part of his life had left him sweating and fighting to keep his breathing regular. You reached out to take his hand to stop him in his tracks, “…I can’t imagine how that must have been.” You started out, feeling how terrible you were with words again, but reminded yourself that if you could do this in writing, you had to be able to do this in person as well, “thank you for telling me this.” You gave a reassuring smile. Sans nodded shortly and squeezed your hand, saying nothing as he exhaled deeply. 

Alphys came over and pushed over a table to put down a pillow, a needle with a clear liquid, a scarf and glass of water. She put her hand on Sans’ shoulder as a gesture of kindness, before turning to you, “Can you tell me why you had to wear the bracelet? In as specific and clear details as possible.”

Alphys gave off the feeling that everything was going to be okay and you gave her a nod. After these few days of no magic, you had more energy left in you to share your experience, “I’ve had random bursts of _something_ from my hands when I hum or when I’m nervous, like a pulse or something that pushes… anything I have in my hand away. I also kept hearing random sounds around me or voices louder or lower than usual, like I could hear an ant crawling in my neighbours room, while not being able to hear my own breathing, and then it would switch. I’ve also woken up from those random bursts of noises, and had all the furniture in my apartment pushed away from me…”

Sans chimed in, “When they told me about it, we both figured that it was magic so I tried to give them the bracelet and blammo; it was monster magic.” 

Alphys nodded all the while you both explained, refraining from commenting on the strangeness of it, “Interesting… For how long?” 

“I’m not sure. Longer than I’ve noticed I think.”

Alphys nodded again, “I’m asking because, I think I saw something like that ‘pulse’ you’re talking about, happening here a few weeks ago.”

“Yeah?” 

“You were making breakfast and listening to music, and I stepped in right when you made a wave with your hand, and your phone on the table, it flew into the air without you touching it.”

You felt your heartbeat rising again. If that was true... “fuck that makes sense.” You muttered, both impressed by Alphy’s ability to notice these things, but also how that information made little pieces come together. If you had done it there, then you had probably done it before, and you started rummaging through your memory for other scenarios like those- like when you were cleaning dishes and a glass flew off the counter… you distinctly remember not having touched it to make it fall. 

Alphys took the needle, gave it a few pokes before asking for your arm, “This is a healing and calming liquid, it’s going to help you deal with the rush of magic that will to flow back into you, and it will make you fall asleep. It’ll take thirty minutes or so before it works. When you’ve adjusted to your magic again, which can takes hours or days… I’m actually not sure… then we have to start figuring out why and how you have magic, I’ve… I’ve really never heard about a human with magic… monster magic even, just to make it more complicated...” Alphys was being so calculative and precise that you had momentarily forgotten just what a warm creature she was, and now she was letting a bit of her worry spill out. If she was worried, it only served to make you feel even worse.

“Will it... be okay?” you asked, feeling your breath hitching in your throat. Sans’s hand was Immediately on your lap, “Yes. You’ll be fine,” and Alphys nodded, “definitely! I’m just… I’m worried of course, but I don’t doubt that everything will be fine. For now, we only have to focus on getting that bracelet off of you!”

“You should probably lie down.” Sans suggested, “actually-“ he hopped up on the couch next to you, “-lie down on my lap and hold your arm around me- yeah like that, and when Alphys takes the bracelet off, just clench as hard as you can”  
You lied completely still in his lap, your left arm around his chest and your right arm resting on your side.  
Alphys put the pillow underneath your head and offered you the scarf to bite down on, which you gladly took and stuffed in between your teeth, as you were pretty sure you were going to need it.

  
She warned you before she poked you with the needle, the sting making you wince, but even more so, it was the feeling of liquid seeping into your bloodstream like thick bullets, that made you want to vomit. Clenching into San’s sweater, you felt him hold you tighter, and just like that; Alphys had pulled off the bracelet. You felt fine for the first few seconds, and somehow that was more worrying than immediate pain. You didn’t dare to speak. It was the calm before the storm, you just knew it, and just as you had made the thought, you felt like you had been gut punched. Sans grabbed your free hand, held it as tight as he could and kept you close, trying to seize your thrashing and writhing in his arms. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said I would probably slow down because of the holidays seasons, but apparently I meant speed up cough
> 
> ANYWAYS. It's the 24th of december!! Here's my ACTUAL on date christmas present I suppose, haha! I hope you all enjoy it, and thank you all so much for all the sweets comments you've left over the past 13 chapters! They bring me so much joy <3


	14. A pattern of galaxies

A mutter of words slid past your ears, tickling the edge of them, disturbing your peace. Bursts of drums, shouts and screams; a TV from the living room upstairs. Smacks of lips, blinks of eyes, nails against fabric, thunderous noises, pushing and pulling your sanity. And a whisper, merely a slight hiss, muttering so low you barely caught it. It was familiar, so familiar, and hands with holes appeared for your eyes, closing them and putting you to sleep. 

All sounds disappeared, leaving you still on a cold black floor in an empty vast nothingness, listening and waiting for … there was supposed to be a name, a title, a phrase that he connected to, this much you knew. This much, he had told you. 

 _Hello._  
you sensed his words.  
_It has been so long. So lonely. So empty._

Who is this? You thought to yourself, not daring to move. A single gesture could send you flying into nothingness and pull you away from him. A single move of your lips was too much to hope for.

 _What’s left of what once was. A rhapsodic void. A warning. Hope.  
_ There was sorrow and pain, guilt and regret. What do you mean? You asked.

 _It is a long tale. Far too long. Far too painful._  
A pulse went through your body, recognition of the words you sensed.  
_I came not for stories, nor for tales. I came to you, as you have come to me. To talk. To understand. To enlighten._

The void around you felt thick and snug, it was alive and breathing like the gestures in your head. The words were not words as much as they were a mutual understanding. There were no sounds for now, but a calming gesture in the wind, a drawn sign of a half closed circle and a line, and a goodbye. 

You rolled to your stomach and grasped the edge of the couch and threw up on the floor. Only having barely managed to register that you were feeling sick and that you were still in Alphy’s lab, you tried your best to catch your breath and fully awake from the dream. It slowly disappeared from your memory until it was but a whisper in the wind.  
Your muscles contracted once more, painfully emptying what was left in your body, leaving you shaking and pale. You distantly registered Alphys rushing over to calm you and stroke your back, before she left again to fill a bucket with water and soap.

Sans was not on the couch anymore, instead of him was a couple of more pillows and a blanket thrown over you, and you wanted to look around the room to see if you could find him, but your head was too heavy and your body too tired. You could only see the floor where shards of glass were scattered here and there and a broom thrown haphazardly on the ground.

When Alphys came back, she cleaned up after you and you must’ve managed to mumble an apology as she told you there was nothing to apologize for. You only barely managed to register her words, as they sounded like she was speaking under water. Carefully she pushed you back on the couch, tucked you in and placed a bucket next to the couch in case you needed it again.

You closed your eyes as you listened. It wasn’t the same “sound attacks” as before. This time, everything was muffled and pushing on your insides, making you feel sick and uneasy, like standing on a wobbly ship. Could that be the medicine that Alphys had given? Or was this a new stage in the magic?

You must have fallen asleep again, as Undyne was the next one to wake you up, “Hey squirt, I’m going to carry you upstairs alright? It’s a lot comfier up there,” she whispered, barely audible to you.

The trip up the stairs to the living room and into Undyne and Alphy’s bedroom was as terrible as you had expected. Every step was a deep dive and when the bucket was placed next to the bed, you promptly grabbed it and hurled again. Nothing came out though, only water and the snot running from your nose. You kept hanging over the bed, gagging and shaking and occasionally cramping together as your body still tried to make you throw up.

Undyne sat down on the other side of the bed, a lovely soft queen sized bed, and rubbed your back, “Better out than in,” her voice was continuously low, which was nice as the watery feeling to her words were clearing away, and the noises were becoming sharp again. You fell asleep again with Undyne staying by your side, and you wished you had the strength to thank her and apologize for the state you were in.

 

Tick, tock.

 

You put your pillow over your head and curled closer together. Sunlight was beaming in through the window, it was early morning and someone had changed your clothes into a soft pyjamas.

 

Tick, tock, tick.

 

You pressed the pillow down harder over your head. You could deal with TV’s, microwaves, footsteps and toilet flushing; even the occasional text message bussing from your phone, but this was annoying.

 

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

 

Removing the pillow you spun around to rest on your back. Whoever was wearing a watch or clicking their teeth was the most annoying person on earth right now. It got louder and louder, but was deafened by the clear crisp voice of a patrol officer; “Good morning, ladies!” Oh, him.  
Once more the pillow was over your head and you turned to lie on your stomach again.

“I hope everything is in order here? Nothing peculiar has happened? No sour faces? Everybody is having a grrrrreeeat time?”

You could practically hear the cling of his white teeth clashing together when he smiled. You heard Undyne’s strained voice, “Everything is fine, officer.” 

“Glad to hear it! And your lady friend is happy and sound as well?”

“She’s terrific.”

 

Tick, tock.

 

“What delightful news! I shall be on my way to the next house then! Have a great day, miss!”

Undyne slammed the door and immediately hissed, “shit!” rushed to the bedroom and stuck her head in to check on you. Instinctively you turned your head to meet her eyes and she whispered, “sorry about slamming the door!” You smacked your lips once before testing your voice, finding it rough and in need of use, “You didn’t wake me up. He did.” Undyne gritted her teeth and stared back at the door, “Well aint Mr. Cheerful pack of sunshine just perfect.”  
The ticking had disappeared along with him, which gave you courage enough to snicker and hear your own laugh, however loud it sounded right now.

“How are you feeling?” Undyne whispered and you propped yourself slightly up on your pillow, “Shitty, but better… did Alphys tell you?”

“She didn’t have to. All of a sudden the whole house was shaking and a deep bass came from the lab, so I ran down and, welp, it came from you. Not exactly hard to miss.” Undyne grinned, but her grin fell upon the look of horror on your face, “Nothing major happened! You fell asleep after a while and then the worst part was over.”

“What happened then?” you asked, squeezing the duvet in your fists.

“You slept for hours while this “pulse” kept beating from you. Alphys cleaned up the lab and the few things that crashed after the blast- don’t feel guilty, alright?” she pointed a stern finger at you as she approached the bed and sat down next to you, “You threw up, slept, threw up some more, slept some more, and then Alphys asked me to take you up here. She’s in the lab and analysing or preparing or whatever, a bunch of smart stuff.”

It was hard to focus on Undyne’s words as it was back to increasing and decreasing in volume at random moments, “I’m so sorry,-“ Undyne pointed a finger right in front of your face, not allowing you to apologize and you smiled weakly, “…where’s Sans then?”

“Back at Toriel’s house. I believe he went there to cook up a healing mixture, and it’s taken most of the night. He’s probably catching some sleep. 

They were all so sweet and helpful. You pulled up the duvet and leaned back against the wall, taking in a deep raspy breath. “You’re all being so nice… thank you.”

Undyne sighed and leaned back against the wall, pushing your sticky hair away from your forehead, “Did you expect us to just say; screw the human, they can deal with this weirdness on their own!”

You chuckled and shook your head, “Still, it feels uneven.”

“You don’t help friends on turns. It’s not like we keep track of who has helped with what and how much! You help, when someone needs help!” She pounded your arm, causing you to groan, “ow! And now I need a new arm!” you huffed, but there was still a hint of a smile on your face and Undyne grinned, “Thank the stars the other one still works then, yeah? Do you want something to eat?”

You bit your lip, pretty sure that anything heavy you consumed would be thrown up again, “Maybe soup or crackers? Cola would be nice.”

“Coming right up!” Undyne had gradually forgotten to whisper, but the pitching volumes had also decreased. Ruffling your hair once she grimaced, “ew- I’ll bring a cloth and wash your forehead as well, holy shit you’re sticky!” she brushed her webbed hand off on her pants and left the bedroom.

While you waited you grabbed your phone and put it on silence so you could text without disturbance – other than hearing the electricity running through the phone itself.

There were only a few notifications on your facebook but none that had anything to do with you, so you messaged Matilde and asked her about Christmas eve and what presents she got. The conversation went on steadily, and in the end you began to talk about new years as Matilde asked if you wanted to go into town and party or stay in her apartment. You honestly didn’t think you were going to be able to celebrate new years with the way you were feeling right now, but you also didn’t know if it would manage to get better, so you had to honestly reply that you were feeling under the weather and you might be in need of a slow new years. You got a lot of sad emoticons in reply, and replied back; _‘No matter what, I’ll make sure we have a proper party together, whether it’s at new years or not!’_

_‘YAY! <3’ _

Undyne came back with a trey, carrying a bowl of warm water and a washcloth, a bowl of hot soup, a plate with biscuits and a small coke and put it on the nightstand next to you, “tadaa! Dig in!”

“You’re an angel,” you smiled and took the soup in your lap and sighed at the warmth of it.

Undyne replied with a short bow and grinned widely at you. She proceeded to dip the cloth in the warm water and wring it carefully before wiping down your forehead and smoothing your hair away from your face, all the while you tried to continue eating. 

Alphys came in not long after, “morning!” she scurried in, her steps quick as she reached the bedside and Undyne stepped aside, “how are you doing?” you were still awfully pale and the level of noise was unpredictable, but you didn’t feel sickly anymore, “Alright, I think,” you replied and swallowed some more of the soup.

The small lizard smiled and reached out her hand, “I thought you might need something to give you an energy boost, so I brought some pills that monsters use. If it’s monster magic we’re dealing with, I think we should treat it as monster magic rather than something human.” She smiled and gave you the little wrapped up pill. 

Opening it up you recognized the smell and shape of it, “Is this also called monster ‘candy’?” 

“You know of it?”

“I came across something in the underground, just once though.” You smiled and swallowed the pill with a mouthful of soup, “thank you.”

There was a knock at the door, causing your hands to fly up to your ears to cover them and in that same motion; Alphys had run out to open the door. The voice was familiar and not as laid back as it usually was; “Sorry I’m late. It took longer than expected.”

“It’s no problem, they’re feeling alright for now. I just came them a boost pill.”

Their footsteps lead them to the bedroom where Sans smiled when he saw you sitting up and eating, and he gave you a friendly wave, relief visibly washing over him. He carried two boxes in his hands, one of them being one of the moving boxes he had at home and turned to Alphys again, handing her the top one and off she went back down to the lab again, talking about gene samples and soul prints that she would soon need.

Undyne gave Sans a sideways hug, asking where Pap was and for now, Pap was currently hanging out with lesser and greater dog in the gym hall playing basketball, something, you remembered, that he hoped to do with you one day. The small skeleton proceeded to ask if he could have a moment alone with you, and up on the bed he crawled, letting Undyne leave the room.

“Mornin'. I got a few things with me,” Sans started out, the box promptly placed in his lap as he opened it up while you stuffed your face with biscuits and cola. You didn’t speak for now, merely observed. There was something off with Sans, he was too dodgy while trying to be the same laid back person he always was, but there were twitches, the speed of his speech, _noises_ , a pulse that was off about him. He looked emotionally exhausted. 

“First off, there’s this,” he pulled out one of his large thick hoodies with a fur trim and gestured for you to learn forward so he could drape it over your shoulders, “for comfort,” he shortly clarified before picking out two small glass balls with the pattern of galaxies in them.

Holding them in his hand, he spun them slowly around each other, his fingers swiftly moving them, “practice this movement to keep your mind focused, and look only at the balls.” Sans’ explanation was as short as it could be and he gave you the balls to carefully hold in your hands. They were cool and heavy, and when they touched the edge of each other, their screech was like a song.

The last thing he took out was a big plastic tupperware box with a green lid, containing something that looked like slimy seaweed, “This is why I couldn’t be here, I had to go and make this with Toriel.”  
“Undyne told me,” you offered a smile, “Does Toriel know then?”

He nodded humbly, “A little. She’s the only one who remembers the recipe, and she didn’t want to make it unless she knew why. Sorry, I should have asked first” he spoke fast, as if he was ripping off a bandaid.

“It’s fine. What is it then?” you shrugged it off, not wanting to focus on who knew and who didn’t, as long as it wasn’t your parents.

“It’s like one of Toriel’s healing spells, but in edible form; they’re very strong, durable, lasts forever and gives your magic and mentality a boost. It can even heal small cracks on your soul. It’s what our soldiers used to carry with them on the battlefields, many centuries ago, before we were forced underground.”

You gaped. The pill had started to work and you felt your headache and sickly state slowly fading away, letting you focus purely on Sans, “Against the humans?” 

“Alongside humans” Sans clarified, “but humans can’t use it, it only affects the soul or bodies strongly connected to their souls. It’ll be… interesting, for lack of a better word, to see how much it will affect you.”

You gave a subtle nod, “what is it called?” 

“Nightshade, I believe. It’s named after a flower up here, as there’s a bit of it in it.”

“Nightshade… that’s a beautiful name for something so…”  
  
“Gross looking?”

“Quite.”

Sans chuckled and put it down in his cardboard box again, only interrupted as you asked; “shouldn’t I take one?”

“Oh it’s not for now,” Sans clarified, “it’s for when we start training you. It’s going to take a lot to learn how to deal with your magic, and we want to do it as fast as possible, and I- we don’t want to risk you getting hurt.” 

You turned to face him better and pulled his hoodie closer around you- there were two things that you caught up on- the fact that he changed ‘I’ to ‘we’, and the whole training part, and if you asked one question the other would be lost in conversation, “What kind of training?”

Closing off the box he gave the question some thought, “Physical and mental workouts. See it as a soul workout. You know how to use your body, you’ve done it for many years, but your soul was only stirred the moment you ended up in the underground, so it needs the same attention and care as your body. But souls are also easier to mold and mend, so it shouldn’t take long. A week perhaps.” 

“A week?” You frowned and bit your lip. Better than a month, you supposed. New years were definitely out of the question.

“I’m sorry… Your parents will probably start to wonder yeah? I’ll come up with something if that makes it easier for you.” Sans kept his eyes on his lap, avoiding eye contact.

“It’s fine, I’ll figure something out,” you spoke quietly and studied the skeleton, and if you didn’t know any better, you’d say that he had dark circles under his eyes and his hands were rattling. Gently you put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him in for a sideways hug, surprising him all the same as he looked up at you. Frowning you asked, “What’s wrong?" 

He immediately looked down and closed his eyes, but remained with his head against your shoulder, “Just worried.”

You nodded, resting your cheek on top of the cold skull, “me too.”

You stayed like this for a while, until Sans took in a deep breath, exhaled quietly and pushed himself promptly away, “I’ll go get Alphys. We need to get a print of your soul and run some genetic scans. Let’s get this over with, yeah?” he smiled and hopped off the bed. 

The testing took place down in the lab, away from the comfortable bed. You wanted to have walked there, but your legs gave in the moment they touched the ground, so instead, Undyne took you in her arms and carried you downstairs. You were put in a comfortable chair and had a small chat with Undyne about what excuses you could make up for your prolonged stay, which started at “Tell them you’re sick!”  
“Then they’ll want to take me home”  
and ended with, “Tell them Sans has got skele-sicktibitus-ishness and only your hair is what’s keeping him alive!”

The gene test was simple. Alphys took a bit of your spit from the inside of your mouth, some of your hair and a scrape of skin from your finger. The soul print is what had you puzzled. She explained that they had to take out your soul, as you had tried many times in the underground, and basically take a photo of its pattern, as all Souls had different marks and patterns that weren’t always visible to the eye.

“Like a fingerprint?” you suggested and put up your finger and was met by confused eyes. When you had explained how unique fingerprints were, Alphys smiled and nodded, “exactly!”

The machine was simple and small. It was a tiny jar of glass, standing on a metal plate, inside of a metal box. Every side of the box would take a ‘picture’ of the print, so Alphys could study its properties without you having to walk around without your soul. 

“Ready?” Alphys asked and held her palm in front of the very center of your chest, lingering for a while as she focused. Her hand began to shake and beads of sweat trickled down her forehead until she finally pulled away, “I-I- can’t do it! Soul pulling always makes me nervous!” a nervous chuckle escaped her and Sans patted her shoulder, “no worries, I’ll do it,” and swiftly took her spot in front you.

It was but a soft gentle pull. He kept his bony hand extended in front of you, and culled his fingers together to beckon the soul out until it rested above his palm, but what you saw, had all four of you speechless. 

“it has… changed colour?” you inquired, staring curiously at the little shape. You distinctively remembered it being a bright bordeaux, but now, there was a small gradient of purple fading from the top, only a quarter way down. It was the brightest at the top of the shape, almost blue. 

“That’s… peculiar indeed” Alphys corrected her glasses and looked closer, her breath on your soul causing you to shiver. Having your soul out in front of you, always left you feeling exposed and frail, as it took in the slightest nudge or budge as it was a lot more sensitive than your body.

“Is this good or bad?” Undyne asked before you could. Sans stood frozen with his eyes pierced on the floating shape.

“It doesn’t seem damaged…” Alphys thought out loud, “merely, changed. Perhaps human souls are all this… reddish colour, but the closer you come to monsters, they reveal unique colours? Or maybe it’s a stage of maturity? Or… hmm…”

“Or maybe it’s someone slowly harming it.” Sans spoke the words that no one else wanted to.

“But who would harm it?” Your eyes shot up and locked with Sans’, your hands starting to shake again as the beat of your heart began to rise. It couldn't be Chara, they were still stuck in the underground, trapped with Asriel. Right? When you felt the familiar pulses through your body, the soul beat in sync and pulled back Sans’ attention. “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.”

“We don’t even know if that’s the case, let’s just take that darn print and put it back in place!" Undyne hissed, her voice a screech in your ear, causing the soul to vibrate.

“R-right!” Alphys nodded and gently took the frail thing, cupping it between her hands and put it in the jar while mumbling to herself “-behavior is a reaction of feelings and emotions, it’s monster like, very curious- obviously magic- it shivered-“ she looked at you and took note of your nervous stature and shaking hands, “-just like the host,” Alphys concluded and put the heart in the jar and finally into the metal box. She pushed a button on her laptop and there was a bright flash from the edges of the box and swiftly Alphys lifted the jar out again. While she unscrewed it, the tv screens behind the machinery loaded up a fully turnable view of your soul and the intricate pattern that swirled across it.

As careful as possible, she handed the soul back to Sans. The skeleton looked with such curiosity at the glowing substance, you thought for a second he wanted to keep it.  
With a quick nod of approval from you, he pushed it against your body and along a deep intake of breath; your soul was back in its place, washing a warm feeling over your body. “I’ll never get used to that,” you shook, shivering all over.

“Are you nervous? Your heart, it’s…” Sans frowned, his hand never leaving your chest, and you could practically feel your blood pump past his fingers and nodded. It was the mere idea that someone was out after you again that had made you as scared as you were now, and the fact that your soul was apparently changing colour – something that it, quite obviously based on your friends reactions; wasn’t supposed to do. At least not on its own.

“I feel like crap.” You admitted, your breathing speeding up, serving only to make Sans look horrified at your chest. He replaced that expression with a quick grin, “Maybe go watch some TV with Undyne? Alphys and I will run the needed tests.” 

The lizard who had been so absorbed by her work quickly turned her head over, “Yes. We’ll know by tomorrow morning, whether or not your soul is in any immediate danger, so don’t fret yet! After that, we’ll begin to specify what’s going on!”

With a new mission, Undyne picked you up with a reassuring grin and Sans’ hand slid away from your body, “We just got Netflix, so I’ll make sure you’re distracted!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was very tempted to make the voice sing Adele’s Hello  
> cough
> 
> ANWYAYS! A slightly longer chapter than normal, but it felt like it was needed. I tried to make the pacing livable, but I still feel that it's slightly dragging, so I'm sorry for that! 
> 
> As always, if you want to contact me, my tumblr ask box is always open at thedustyleaves.tumblr.com ! If you want to suggest some art I should draw for the chapters, and if you have any idea how reader should be/should not be portrayed, suggestions are very welcome! <3 
> 
> AND PSSST. ONLY TWO DAYS UNTIL MY BIRTHDAY ON THE 29TH! I'm excited haha! :'D


	15. A rough beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOOK AT THIS BEAUTY THAT MADE ME SNORT AT 5 AM IN THE MORNING. A minor warning; the voice is depicted as Gaster in this drawing, so if you don’t see it as that, then gloss over that part~ http://dustyfanfics.tumblr.com/post/139738734408/i-was-wondering-if-after-all-this-time-youd-like

Before you did anything else, you asked for a long needed shower, (with absolutely no humming involved.) You had to sit on a chair, as you still felt too fragile too trust your legs to stand straight on the slippery tiles.

For at least twenty minutes, you selfishly enjoyed the warm water even after you were done cleaning yourself, and reluctantly you stepped out to dry yourself off. With your hair wrapped in a towel, you plopped down on the couch next to Undyne with a satisfied sigh. Thanks to your skin no longer sticking to everything, you were back to a state of normalcy, especially as you had gotten used to the screeching and low volumes a lot faster than the first time. You just hoped you wouldn’t have to experience any of those “sound attacks” any time soon.

Undyne had pushed the couch to the very front of the TV and placed a small table in front of you full of chips, carrot sticks and home made guacamole, alongside a flask of water and another coke specifically for you.

Together with Undyne you quickly strung together a message for your parents; that the sleepover had been extended and you wondered if it was okay for you to stay another couple of days. Your mother replied that she didn’t find it fair how you changed plans but it was fine, and she was also shoving all of the stuff that you had left there from Christmas into the workshop in the backyard, as it took up a lot of space. You couldn’t really argue with that and apologized profusely before agreeing to come over before new years to pick up the stuff and bring it home. Quickly Undyne offered to do it for you, in case you couldn’t do it yourself by then.

You were given the power over Netflix and searched for a while before finding a series that you both would like, settling on Orphan Black. Although it was only the two first episodes that managed to keep your attention, before you had to voice your worry and guilt; you wanted to help or at least be in the same room as Alphys and Sans instead of having them do all the work, to which Undyne retorted that they were better off working alone and that you’d only get in the way.

“That’s not very comforting” you gave a stiff grin and Undyne lifted a brow, “you know what I mean. They work faster this way.”

“Did you know them when they were both in the labs? Back in the underground?

“Oh yes, I’ve known them since we were babies! I wanted to join them whenever they were being nerdy, but I managed to just be a nuisance so they shut the door on me!” Undyne laughed, “One time I ‘accidentally’ tipped a glass over with a weird orange substance in it, and it exploded.” 

You chuckled, “Jesus Christ Undyne! How old were you then?”

“About 14 I think? Hey you said that Jesus thing again; what does it mean?”

“Wait what, only 14? What about Sans and Alphys?”

“Hmm… Alphys is older than me, so she was probably 16 or 17, Sans I’m not sure. I think he was around 17 as well?”

“So they were apprentices or something?”

“Oh yeah, there were tons of other monsters in the lab supervising them. What, you thought that a bunch of kids were allowed to be alone with exploding liquids?” She laughed once more, “But tell me; what’s the Jesus thing?”

It was by trying to explain what a religious figure was, a son of god, and then in return; who God was; that you realized just how much of human history and knowledge you took for granted. So many things were simply second nature to you. Explaining what a religion was became just as complicated, mostly because you had a hard time figuring out how to explain it, especially as you started branching out and talking about religions of different cultures and how different their gods were depicted. After a while, the TV show had been completely abandoned and Undyne brought out her laptop for you to show the various religious figures. It was at Hinduism that Undyne pointed out that the number of arms for several of the figures, reminded her of Muffet.  
“You humans are strange,” Undyne commented, “monsters pray to stars, not figures.”

“I thought you had never seen stars in the underground?" 

“I thought you had never seen God?” she retorted with a grin.

 

When it reached 5 pm and dinnertime approached, the bursts of increasing and decreasing volumes had become less frequent. You had a feeling it was because you felt less panicked this time, and with three friends already helping you out, it was already going a lot better than when you were alone in your apartment. 

As your legs no longer gave in and you felt like you could actually stand again without getting sick, Undyne and you decided to make dinner for the hardworking scientists and cooked up a meal of potatoes and lamb meat with salad on the side.

Carrying the treys of food to the basement was slightly tricky, but you managed to place it on a relatively empty table. Alphys was cheerful when you called her for dinner, and her positivity was absolutely infectious, “So far, there’s no sign of any external or internal harm done to your soul! It seems that it’s the overwhelming amount of magic that’s making you sick, as your body is trying to calibrate to it.”

Sans was still pouring over his work. He had barely acknowledged you were in the room until you touched his shoulder and pulled him away from his work. He seemed more positive, but no less tense than before. Dinner was quick for the short skeleton and the initial fear you had held for your own health, was now for his.

When the meal was over, Alphys ushered you out of the room and thanked you for the food, positive that the rest of the testing would go just as fine and no matter how many times you asked, she would not let you stay and help.

As you washed up the dishes, your good mood was ruined. Even with the great news about your soul, you were still at fault for Sans feeling and acting so different, and obviously in a damaging way, and you couldn’t even help.

It was during this rush of feeling incompetent that every single noise that could disturb you; did. They were enhanced and jumped at you, and while holding your head and trying to make it stop, a strong arm lead you to the couch and a warm blanket was swung around you. It was pulled over your head and you were brought into Undyne’s embrace. The moment your head touched her chest, you heard the pulsating of her soul, and by sheer stubbornness, you focused everything you had on that pulse. You spent a good ten minutes staying in Undyne’s arms and instead of reprimanding you, she shared why she understood as she had felt similarly when Alphys was working alone in the labs and shut everybody out. It was in no way as bad with Sans as it was with Alphys, but it was the same feeling of having no ability to help or reach out and get in touch with a person you care for. At least he had Alphys with him. That somewhat comforted you.

 

You went to bed early and took the foldout couch in the living room, and San’s box of stuff was put on the table next to you. You still wore his hoodie when you fell asleep, but your senses remained heightened. Alphy’s footsteps woke you up around 2 am when she crawled into bed with Undyne, but at 3 am, 4 am… 5 am… there was still no Sans.

You didn’t dare to go down and disturb him and instead texted him, _‘Are you alright?’_

His ringtone was audible for your sensitive ears, and he replied a bit later, _‘Yes, I’m done soon. I’ll take a break in a bit, you should sleep.’_

But you couldn’t sleep. Another two hours and you could still hear the sound of his footsteps, his ragged breathing, even the sweat trickling down his forehead, and the more you focused on him, the harder it became to cancel his noises out. Even the pulse of his soul was like a drum in your ear.

Eventually you fell asleep from exhaustion and woke up only a few hours later by Undyne, who had cooked up some scrambled eggs with bacon, accompanied by three mugs of nutella-coffee. Sans came up a while after to join the three of you for breakfast and poured himself the same stuff, looking worse than you’d ever seen him.

After having consumed half of her plate, Alphys confirmed with Sans weather or not he’d discovered anything significant in the time he’d been awake and he shook his head, “they’re safe” he shortly replied.

Despite the weary state of Sans, Alphys smiled and squeezed his shoulder, “You’re out of harms way,” she turned to you with relief, “there’s no sign of any harm being done to you, other than the immense amount of magic itself. 

You smiled, relief sinking in, “that’s good!”

Alphys nodded, “Yes! Now we “just” need to help you control your magic, at least so you get to know its signals and so it won’t make you feel sick. Everything else, we’ll figure out slowly, but Sans and I already have a couple of theories we need to test out.”

“Don’t tire yourself out… you already figured out the most important part,” you frowned, Undyne nodding eagerly next to you. 

Sans lifted his head from his coffee to argue against it but you stopped him before he could speak, “I mean it. You’ve already done a lot,” you offered a kind smile, but kept your tone stern. Sans kept quiet and continued to drink his coffee, but he didn’t seem to agree as much as he seemed defeated by exhaustion.

 

When it came to the actual training of your powers, it proved to be a lot more difficult than you had anticipated, and your lack of sleep didn’t help either. They had made it sound so easy, or easier than what you had already been going through, but it was both mentally and physically exhausting for you. First off, you had to learn how to draw out the power by your own will, and not to let it take over and you had to feel when it was about to take over so you could stop it. Then you had to find out how to actually use it, what variations your magic had and finally what element or idea it was closest connected to.

Undyne stepped in to help, but her way of helping, was by putting you in the line of fire. It was like when you had met in the underground; she attacked you (although more considerate), and instead of dodging her, you now actually had to attack her back. This didn’t sit well with you as you knew just how fragile the monsters physical bodies were, but Sans and Alphys explained that battles were different when it was monster magic vs monster magic, and that you probably wouldn’t even be able to lay a scratch on her. That didn’t sit well with you either.

You were dragged out to their garden, completely covered up in jackets and scarfs, but quickly those were discarded when the battle got too heated and you could barely breathe in the sauna of sweat you created.

You didn’t manage to create any actual attacks, only tiny bursts of air that pushed away the soil from you or gave a fragile wind sweep, and you were constantly fed with the nasty nightshade seaweed to keep your stamina up.

At one point it became too much and you had to crash on the ground, a large slash on your cheek from Undyne’s spear was oozing blood, but one bite of the gooey seaweed and it was gone.  
It didn’t stop the hyperventilation though, and you tried to drink the glass of water Alphys had brought you, but your hands were shaking too much. The sensation of your magic going haywire became familiar, and just as you thought it was a good thing that you could recognize it, you realized that you couldn’t stop it. Merely starring at your shaking hands, trying to clench them and prevent your body from pushing away your friends with an unfriendly wave of noise, you drew in one shallow breath after the other and utterly failed.

Out of nowhere, Sans put the small crystal balls in your hands and you clenched around them, holding the cool glass before rubbing them against each other and circling them around. Breathe, you told yourself, breathe, focus, breathe, focus. A large bang from your body, from the very inside of your core to the outside of your skin, disrupted your focus and forced you to look up and see your friends pushed on their backs. Quickly you shot your focus back on the balls, on nothing but that star like crystals and the screech of their dance as they whirled around in your palms, going clockwise over and over until finally, you could breathe again. Undyne had her hands on your shoulders and she rightfully so suggested a break, as the sun had already set and it was about time to eat dinner. Training was put off for the day, but Sans was back in the lab again and working his health away, while you were too tired to do anything but send him puns on your cell-phone from the couch, to which none he replied to.

 

The next day was the same, although Sans didn’t join training and instead worked in the lab. Today, you started out easy, rather than going straight into battle. Standing in one end of the garden, with Undyne in the other, you were constantly reminded by Alphys and Undyne to find a focus, to find something that would make your powers stable, like when you looked at the balls, but it was so much easier said than done. You didn’t know if the balls calmed you down because of the movement, because Sans had told you they would, or because of the noise they made. You guessed it was a little bit of everything, but considering what your magic had been showing so far, you had to bet on the noise.

Screeching noises weren’t exactly calming, but you could quite vividly imagine the sound in your head. The scratching, turning, crunching and highpitched glass like sound from the balls, became louder and louder in your head, and eventually, to Undyne as well. The no were near exhausted fish lady stood concerned before you, suddenly sweating and with a spear in hand, until she and Alphys had to hold their ears and their muscles twitched, complaining about a loud screech in their heads. As fast as they had complained, just as fast had the noise disappeared and you could actually smile; you finally understood a part of your gift.  
“Did you hear that!?” you asked, and your friends stared incredulous at you, nodding curiously.

Acting on a spontaneous thought, you grabbed your phone from your jacket and found the earbuds in your pocket. Rather frantically you found the first and best electro swing song you could find with an upbeat rhythm, and with newfound encouragement, you let yourself become engulfed by the song and closed your eyes.

What happened next, explained why the man had yelled at you on the street so many nights ago. Every sound that played in your ears, played throughout your body, becoming audible to your surroundings. Your very skin vibrated with the bass, your hips moved to the rhythm and the vocals sung out through your bones. As if moved by the song itself, you spun around on the spot, and with a loose hand move; you sent Undyne, completely caught off guard as she was too busy staring flabbergasted at you, flying across the backyard and into a bush with a loud yelp.

Even with closed eyes and music blasting in your ears, you somehow sensed the cry of help and pulled out the earbuds to run over to Undyne, but as you offered her your hand, she laughed with a big grin on her face, “That was amazing!!”

Getting up, Alphys rushed over to you, speaking too fast for you to comprehend, mostly describing how incredible that looked, that your magic was full of possibilities, that it had been amazing, and right behind her, Sans had come running out into the garden, his eyes wide as he stared up at you, “holy shit.” He smiled. Finally he smiled.

You felt great for once. All noises around you were at an even volume, your nerves had calmed down, and you felt confident that your magic could actually turn out to be kind of cool. Alphys concluded that your magic had to be connected to music, or harmonious cues, more than just sound.

 

You cooked dinner with Undyne again, cheerfully whistling in the kitchen as you chopped carrots and tomatoes. Undyne continued to boost your ego, “You BLASTED me off into the distance!”  
  
“not exactly into the distance!” you chuckled, but Undyne shook her head, “to the moon and back! It was as if Asgore had punched me!” 

As you placed the plates of food on the table, Papyrus knocked on the door. He had come to check up on his brother, and promptly told him that he needed to sleep and take care of himself with a concern that only Pap could express. To a brother, it was obvious that Sans was wearing himself down, and you were glad that at least one person dared to tell him to calm down.  
Sans didn’t tell Pap what he was working on, only that he and you still had to figure a few stuff out before he could tell. He didn’t want to overstep your boundaries by letting everybody know before you had a say in it. Pap was about to leave before Undyne pulled him in for dinner, and together you all sat down in the living room and enjoyed your warm food. The tall skeleton gladly told about his day, being an expert in cheering up his surroundings, and with large gestures and a booming voice he told about his achievements in basketball and his days with Mettaton. It was a tremendous feeling to actually being able to listen to his story, without getting an unnecessary headache.

When Pap said goodbye to Sans at the door, you respectfully stayed in the living room to avoid listening to their conversation, however much you wanted to.

The door closed with a soft click and Sans walked up behind you on the couch, “I’m staying one more evening. Then I’ll go back to my own home, I hope that’s okay.” He looked absolutely defeated. 

Alphys nodded, “Of course! We’ve already progressed enough!”

But he only shortly glanced at Alphys before keeping his eyes on you, waiting for your confirmation. You gave a firm nod, “If you didn’t go home tomorrow, I’d drag you there.” He chuckled shortly, “Now that’s a sight I’d like to see." 

You offered a smile, “Wanna sit down and watch mindless TV with us?”  
Sans frowned and was about to open his mouth, his eyes watching the entrance to the lab for a second before he gritted his teeth and looked back at you again, “Yeah. That sounds nice.”  
  
“Good man!” Undyne grinned.

Sighing from pure relief you pulled your legs in and patted the spot next to you. Taking the blanket from the armrest, you waited for Sans to sit down before you threw it over the both of you. He sat completely upright, so unlike from how he usually was, so you took his hand to offer some comfort. Sans only looked at you once to give you a sheepish smile, before looking back at the TV, but as he did, he squeezed your hand tighter. Halfway through a random episode of desperate housewife’s, Sans was leaning against your side, and you had an arm around him, holding the opposite hand. 

You were dozing off, listening to the quiet breathing of your friends and the low volume of the TV. Quite so absentmindedly, you stroked the bony hand with your thumb, your movements slowing down as your eyelids began to close.  
  
But something felt off. Something was beating out of rhythm, disturbing your momentary peace, and instinctively you stroked the bone harder, and he squeezed your hand almost painfully. It felt so desperate.  
Looking to your side, Sans had lowered his head completely, and ever so faintly, his shoulders were shaking. It was barely noticeable, and he almost looked asleep if it hadn’t been for the fact that you could hear his pulsing soul beating frantically and irregularly.

Acting out of concern you leaned over to whisper, “do you want to go somewhere else?” and received a short nod. Just as gentle you took his hand and lead him away. Undyne was already sleeping on the couch, but you caught eye contact with Alphys and gave her a short nod and a smile. She nodded almost knowingly and let you leave in peace.

Leading Sans into Alphys and Undyne’s bedroom you closed the door behind you before returning to Sans again, who was now clenching his sweater with his fist and scratching at his skull with his free hand. Carefully you took his hand and held it, “Sans, what’s wrong?” you spoke calmly, knowing that voicing your worry would not help him right now.

He shook his head, “I don’t know,” he took in a short breath, and another, keeping no space in between, “I can’t- I can’t breathe-“ he began to hyperventilate, sweat forming in pearly beads on his head.

Shit, you thought to yourself, and lead Sans down on the floor to sit on the carpet, “Yes you can,” you reassured him, “Breathe with me, okay?” taking in a deep breath, making sure it was audible to him, you exhaled just as loud and took in another breath, until he slowly began to follow your rhythm. His entire body was shaking by now, and you dared not to hold anything but his hand, nor even lift his head up to gain eye contact. Continuing to breathe, you only stopped when he tried to start talking again, “I’m so sorry- I don’t know…- why I’m like this!“ his breathing turned raspy and shaky, tears were building up, “everything is falling apart, I’m sorry-!”

“Nothing is falling apart.” Speaking with certainty you kept yourself calm on the outside. You didn’t know exactly what he was talking about, but that didn’t matter right now. “Can I hold you?” you loosened up your grip on his hands, but he shook his head and you fastened it again, “I won’t hold you then,” you verified his decision. “You have nothing to apologize for. You’re doing fine.”

“My head is a mess!” his grip became harder and he tried to clench his fists around your hands, but you shook your head, “Just focus on breathing okay? Just breathe. It’s fine. Breathe for now and count down from one-hundred between each exhale, okay?” He still only looked down on the ground, but you went back to doing breathing exercises, counting down with him and by 97, he went along with you. By 70, he loosened his grip. By 50 he had stopped hyperventilating. By 23 his hands stopped shaking. By 10 his breathing had lowered to a deep rumble, and he was absolutely exhausted.

When he reached 0, you were rubbing circles with your thumbs over his hands, and waiting a while before talking, you spoke quietly, “Are you in any physical pain?,” you tried to keep your question as clear as possible, and let out a sigh of relief when he shook his head, “Do you feel calmer?” you asked again, and he nodded.

Finally you asked, “…can I come with you to your place tomorrow?”, and Sans looked up at you. The white pinpricks of his eyes were wide and tears streaked down the cheeks of his skull. The sight absolutely broke your heart. He looked so confused at you as he spoke, “Why would you do that?” his voice was broken.

“Because I want to make sure you’re okay and maybe stay for new years? If you don’t want me to, that’s all right. I just want to offer it.” You smiled softly.

Sans lips pressed into a fine line before he looked down at your hands and once more back up at again, “…I’m so pathetic right now,” he huffed out a chuckle.

“I don’t think you are. You’re allowed weak moments, they don’t make you pathetic.”

Casting his eyes down again he released one hand to dry his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie, and let his forehead fall down on your chest. You slowly wrapped your arms around him, making sure he was fine with it, and in the same motion, he rested himself against you. “If it’s not too much trouble… I’d would be nice to have you with me”

“It’s never too much trouble. I’m here for you, just like you’re always here for me. It goes both ways,” you looked down with a smile and gently stroked his skull. He didn’t look up, but he nodded gently into your chest, and stayed like this. Remembering something important, you picked out the crystal balls from your pocket and gave them to Sans, and straight away he took them and turned them in his hand for almost an hour, calming down and slowly finding himself again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apoligize for the wait but I hope you all had a great new years eve! I celebrated it with a bunch of people I love and I had a nice and chill birthday as well! c: 
> 
> This chapter was insanely hard for me to write and I think it shows with just how clumsy it feels. It might just have been because I haven't had a lot of time lately, but man it’s been hard trying to phrase myself and put in a lot of information without skipping it too fast, and I still feel like I messed up HAH. I hope it's still enjoyable, and I’ll do better for the next chapter! 
> 
> And URGH I had hoped I would have been able to write about new years on the actual day of new years, but now I'm super behind :[ oh well, at least the next chapter will have something sweet in store that I’ve been saving up until this point <3 
> 
> A small ps: I’ll start school again tomorrow, but I’ll try to update every weekend like I did before the christmas break!


	16. Adam and Eve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a twitter account so I can share my thoughts (no spoilers) a lot easier, and to chat with you all better and faster! https://twitter.com/Dustyfanfics it’s private so you have to request to follow it c:

That night, sleeping wasn’t an option. Sans slept on the couch next to you, completely knocked out and snoring softly, almost like a purr. It was comforting to hear him finally resting, but you were still worried. You had briefly read about panic attacks in an article  online, and you were pretty sure that that is what Sans had experienced, and the guilt was eating you away. You had to apologize to him, to make him understand just how much his hard work meant to you, and you had to do it without making him feel guilty for making you feel guilty.

Tugging his fur-lined jacket closer around you, you kept your eyes locked on his skull. He was so peaceful. So quiet. His soul pulsated like a flickering flame, sometimes stable, sometimes blown by a breeze. 

You didn’t realize when you had fallen asleep, until you stood in a familiar black void.

 

_Welcome back_  
Thank you, you replied, realizing that you were standing up and harbouring no fear of falling out of space or sleep. Tell me, you inquired, why do I always forget you when I wake up?

_You have yet to meet me. To remember me. But you have something to remember me by.  
_ Come forth, you frowned, feeling oddly calm and safe. 

_I can not.  
_ The patterns wavered with shame.  
_He would not like it.  
_ Please? You sat down on the ground and looked about, trying to locate the man. I want to know who you are and why you’re in my head.  
  
 _In your head? Why, but we’re in my head. My space. My void. You entered it._  
I don’t understand. 

There was silence for a long time. No response, but you were not yet pulled out of your dream, so you waited, for how long you didn’t know. It felt like time and age didn’t matter in this space, and that you could have stood there for a millennium and somehow de-aged.

_Come back in two days time and I shall introduce myself to you._

“PANCAKES AND NUTELLA-COFFEE!”

Undyne’s voice bellowed over your dream, pulling you out of it and instantly you had forgotten all about it, except for one clear image of a pattern.

Throughout breakfast you were zoning out, staring at the TV with a blank expression as you recalled the mark, his mark, half a circle and a line. Something told you not to tell anyone, to keep it a secret at least for the next two days. You didn’t know who had told you to keep it secret or why, and usually you loved to tell your friends about your dreams and things you remembered from them, but this time; all you remembered was darkness and that pattern. Yet you knew it had been given to you in confidence.

Before you left the home of your friends, Alphys and Undyne reminded you to take care of yourself, to eat well, to sleep 8 hours a day and always call even if you did a weird sneeze that had to be checked, “Are you going home now then?” Undyne asked.   
“Actually I’m going to Sans and Pap’s place and staying for new years,” you smiled and Undyne nodded, “Should I go get your stuff then from your parents?”  
  
“Oh shit! I forgot about that! Yeah, if you could do that, that would be awesome!”  
  
“No problem!” Undyne gave you a thumbs up, “I’ll just take the forest route, it should be piece of cake!”  
  
You gave Undyne the key to your apartment, and you quickly messaged your parents to let them know that she was getting your stuff, and you mother replied with a smiley. It seemed that she was just happy to get her extra space back again.

For the road home, you carried one of San’ boxes with the lightweight stuff, while Sans insisted on carrying the heavy things. He already seemed a lot happier, or at least lifted from an ounce of his worries, but still burdened by them. 

It was lovely weather outside, chilly and with a thin layer of snow on the pavement, but the sun was shining and warming up your body, and all around you, you saw the life that had been brought into the town. There was barely a scratch left on the houses, it had all been fixed up except for the few things that had to wait until spring came back. Today, the monsters were out decorating for new years and putting away the Christmas decorations, and on the way home you met Doggo who enthusiastically waved at you and said that he looked forward to when you would be joining their basketball games. Papyrus must have told him, you thought to yourself fondly.

Between all the monsters, one familiar human walked alongside a companion, and as you gained eye contact with them, you recognized Adam; walking with a woman you didn’t know who were. He smiled upon recognizing you and before you knew it, you had rushed over to him, “Adam! So good to see you!” You stood for a second wavering back and forth, not knowing if you should shake his hand or hug him and resolved to putting the box on the ground to embrace him. Gladly he returned it with a laugh, “It’s good to see you too!”

Sans stood confused next to you, looking almost worriedly up at you, “So, who’s this?”   
You smiled, giddy beyond believe, “Oh, sorry Sans!” you apologized and pointed to Adam, “This is Adam! The sole reason why we got through the system so fast to get you this town.” Sans eyes widened, suddenly looking ashamed, “And this is-…I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name-“

The woman chuckled, her laughter spreading like the warmth of the sun, “No need to apologize, I don’t think we’ve met, but I’ve heard a lot about you! I’m Evelyn,” she outstretched your hand to shakes yours and Adam clarified, “she’s my wife” putting a proud hand on her shoulder.

She was beautiful, absolutely exquisite and she was pregnant and fondly rubbing her own stomach. Goddamn it their baby was going to turn out so damn beautiful it was almost not fair.

“Nice to meet you! Evelyn and Adam… that’s oddly close to-“  
  
“Adam and Eve? We know.” Adam groaned, obviously having heard it before and you laughed; “So what brings you here?”  
  
“Oh we just came to visit! I finally got a day off, Christmas time is busier than you might think, so we wanted to see how things were going here when we could!”  
  
“It looks so wonderful and cosy!” Evelyn smiled at you and Sans, “How do you find it here?” She asked Sans directly and he shrugged, “It’s nice. A lot better than underground.” He was a man of few words indeed, “Thank you for your effort in giving us this place,” he looked directly at Adam, trying to apologize for his rude entrance and Adam smiled, “It’s the least I could do! It really took no effort.”

“Should we keep walking?” Evelyn asked Adam and looped her arm with his and Adam chirped, “Ah yes! We have to return to the city in a few hours and meet up with some friends, so we have to be a bit quick about this. It was nice to meet you again!” he shook your hand and you beamed up at him. 

_liar._

Your smile dropped for a second but quickly you gained it again, “You too! Have a nice day, and happy new year!”

They wished you happy New Year as they walked off, and you picked up the box again, continuing your walk towards San’s house. When you were far enough away you looked to sans, “Did you whisper something just before?”  
  
He eyed you curiously, “Pretty sure I didn’t, no.” 

“oh, must’ve been my hearing then,” you frowned and Sans nodded, “you’re still getting used to your magic, so that might’ve been it.”

You nodded and asked instead, “So what did you think about them?”  
  
“They seemed nice,” he smiled, “What’s the Adam and Eve thing though?”

Oh dear. If you could have cracked your knuckles, you would have, because this needed a long explanation, “To understand that; are you ready for a very long explanation about human religions?”  
  
“With you? Always.” He grinned, his thirst for knowledge never-ending.

Sans knocked clumsily on the door to his house while trying to juggle the box with one hand, and Papyrus opened it only a second after, his curious expression turning into a large smile. He grabbed both boxes and put them on the floor before hoisting you and Sans into his arms, “Welcome home!” 

You were carried into the living room while Papyrus tried to gesticulate and keep you both in grip, asking how you were, while telling how he was all at the same time. Sans was highly trained in this and replied with ‘ok’s, nods and ‘neato’s’ while smiling fondly at his brother.

When you were finally put down, Sans took the boxes back up to his room while you stayed in the living room with Pap. Papyrus was tidying up while he kept on talking about everything and nothing, always so positive and energetic, but you couldn’t help but feel that he was trying to hide a pinch of fear, as you could hear his soul beating like a panicked heart.

You didn’t get to ask before Sans was back down again, asking what was up for today, and you smiled, “Well, I thought we could have a day of doing nothing? You’ve worked so hard I think you deserve many lazy hours.”  
  
Sans grinned, “Movies, maybe?”

“Perhaps we could watch one of those _cartoons_ you talked about!” Papyrus added with an excited grin

“Oh the animated movies? Sure! I think some of them are on Netflix, we could try and watch How to Train Your Dragon!”

It didn’t take long before Papyrus was making popcorn and Sans had placed himself on the couch, but before you could sit down, you asked if you could borrow some more comfortable clothes and Sans offered you to go up and grab a hoodie and some sweatpants from his closet if you wanted to.

As much as you wanted to change your clothes, you actually wanted to see the state of his room. It was a simple and random thought that perhaps Sans’ usually messy room, could be a reflection of his mind. You knew from your close friends who had experienced depression, or were still battling with it, including yourself, that the room was a pure manifestation of how you felt. It was a small thing, but a clean room could do a whole lot. You still remembered when one of your good friends did your dishes back when you were so low and down in the dumps that you could barely make yourself look at them. You had thanked her profusely as it felt like a mountain had been lifted off your shoulders.   
  
You went to his room and frowned as you found it as expected; messy and chaotic, but not teenage messy, but messy as in various things were pushed away whenever he needed to grab something behind it, or stuff that could’ve been folded together and put on a shelf, were left in a bundle on the floor.   
You called from the stairs down to the living room, “Sans can I clean your room?”   
  
He looked perplexed at you, quite adorably so, “Why would you do that?”

“As a favour! I can’t do science stuff for you, but I’m pretty good at cleaning!” You grinned, “I promise I won’t look into your secret drawers or read your diaries.”  
  
Papyrus was looking out from the kitchen by now and watching the conversation with curious eyes, and Sans was at a loss for words before he shrugged, his cheeks slightly flushed, “Sure, knock yourself out.”  
  
You smiled, “Thank you!” and as you walked in, you could hear him shout, “and it’s a journal!” 

You laughed to yourself before cracking your knuckles and getting ready, but then you heard Papyrus shout to you close to the stairs, “What about the movie?”   
“Just put it on, I’ve seen it about thirty times! I’ll join you when I’m done!” Papyrus agreed to this and soon enough, you were cleaning away to the theme of ‘This is Berk’.

First off, you stacked away the boxes that still remained to be unpacked to make space to clean, then you piled the clean clothes in one bundle and found a laundry basket to put the the dirty ones in. You folded the clothes, put them on their place in the dresser, changed the bed-sheets and put the dirty ones in the basket as well, and swiftly you opened the last ten boxes and began to put their contents on their places. There were, in fact a lot of journals, and those you placed in order of dates on a shelf above the desk, and next to them; his joke books, quantum physics books and his small collection of movies.  
The desk was cleaned up, pencils put in their pencil case, curled paper thrown in the paper bag, old food thrown away, askew things put straight and finally you went downstairs to get the vacuum-cleaner and a white cloth to wipe all the surfaces down and vacuum the floor. As a last touch you opened the window to allow the air to freshen out, and carried down the empty boxes to the living room. You left one box with stuff you didn’t know what were or where to put and pushed it underneath the desk so it was out of the way and the room kept looking clean.   
Altogether it had taken an hour and the movie was halfway done, but you were satisfied with yourself and it had been almost therapeutic for you. Cleaning other peoples rooms were always easier than cleaning your own. Papyrus was smiling widely at you once you sat down between them, and Sans mumbled a humble thank you while leaning his head against your side, and that was all the thanks you needed.

It was a cosy day with you showing one animated movie after the other; Atlantis the lost empire, Coralline (which Papyrus found insanely creepy), Lilo and Stitch (where Sans announced you his Stich), followed by Finding Nemo, Dinner, mindless TV programs and finally bed.

You borrowed an extra duvet from Papyrus and a bed sheet from Sans, and standing in his doorway as he handed it to you, he quietly spoke, “Thank you, really. This means a lot,” he gestured to his room with a nod. You smiled, “It’s the least I can do. It could become a monthly thing?”

He looked completely baffled at you, as if you had suggested that you fly to the moon with him, “Let’s talk about that in the morning,” he suggested, quickly putting on a sheepish smile, “Sleep well,” he reached up and gave you a quick peck on the cheek and closed his door. It happened so fast you barely registered the sweet gesture before heading down the stairs to the couch.

Pap was currently preparing a cup of tea in the kitchen and walked by you just as you had finished pulling out the couch to make your bed. You turned to wish him goodnight before asking, “aren’t Sans going to read you a bedtime story?”

Pap shook his head, “We stopped doing that a few weeks after we got here. Now I read them myself!” he looked awfully proud and you smiled; “Which ones are you reading then?”  
  
“The H. C. Aendherrschen stories, except for the ones that Sans has marked as ‘Don’t Read’.”

You chuckled, “It’s Andersen,” you pronounced it with the little Danish you knew. You had a mediocre pronunciation knowledge of the few phrases, names and words you knew danish, although you didn’t want to test them out on an actual Dane.

“…Andarsshyn?”

“Andersen.”

“Ahn-nor-sun...?” Pap tried to force his mouth into making the Scandinavian noises and you stood with a stiff lip, trying really hard to not laugh and nodded, “close enough!”  
Papyrus smiled, satisfied by your compliment and took a sip of his tea before pointing a finger in the air, “While I remember, can I talk to you?” He gestured for the kitchen and you followed quietly after, taking a spot on the counter as he sat down on the opposite side, nursing the cup between his bony fingers. 

He bit down on his lower lip bone, frowning as he looked at the cup and you instantly worried, “What is it Pap?”

“Well- you see… I wanted to just, thank you, and talk a bit, about Sans…”

You nodded, not wanting to interrupt or ask too many questions, afraid that you would overload Papyrus and make him loose the courage to keep talking.

He took another gulp of the tea before continuing, “Thank you for doing that before... cleaning his room… He doesn’t say or show it much, but it means a lot to him, and to me. In the underground, it was… trying... to keep a life together. You know, having a steady job, making sure that the home looked decent and such. Things seemed a bit… hopeless sometimes. Repetitive and endless.”

This was a side of Papyrus you had almost feared, but also awed. To you, Papyrus seemed like the guy who smiled to make other people smile, but not forced or strung up, but because it genuinely made him happy to see other people happy. Unlike Sans who smiled, to hide how he frowned. Papyrus was ever positive and hopeful, allowing himself to be naïve and keep his playful and child-like nature, but he always took notice of the things that happened around him, things that most people missed, and tried to help in the little and important ways that he knew; by staying positive on their behalf and by always being there. He was so observant, but he rarely voiced it, thus when papyrus finally spoke his mind, it was always because it was important and to be respected.

“But then you came, and he lit up! Helping us all break out of there, it just… it did something good for him.” Papyrus smiled at you and he finished the last of his tea before putting away the cup. You smiled humbly at him, a little flutter in your heart growing stronger.

“He’s just in a bad spot right now… Exhausted I think, tired of smiling when he’s not happy. But lately he’s more honest with himself and his feelings, which is good! I won’t pry into what you were doing at Undyne’s, I just want to help if I can, but I’m glad you’re with him, so, I uh, thank you. Thank you for being here for him, it is helping him… and me, a lot.”

You stepped off the counter and reduced the distance between the two of you, hugging Papyrus gently and securely. Your eyes were stinging with the feeling of tears trying to squeeze out, but you held them back with a deep breath and Papyrus’s hands on your back. His words had simply been so sweet and genuine, they really hit home. Pulling back you let your hand stay on Papyrus’s knee, and looked up at the tall figure with a smile, “I think you’re right Pap, about Sans being honest with himself,” you smiled a little before frowning, “and about that… I want to be honest as well; I just want to be sure that Sans is ready to talk about it. It’s nothing bad, actually it’s really good! It just took some effort to get there- oh you know what, forget it, just don’t tell Sans, okay?”   
Papyrus nodded eagerly and you smiled, “I got magic, a little bit- don’t make a loud noise!” Papyrus was smiling wider and wider and held his mouth and nodded eagerly to let you know he’d be quiet, “okay so, it’s magic connected to noises, and Sans and Alphys worked themselves down to the bone- no pun intended- to figure out if it was harming me or not, but it’s not and now they’re figuring out why it’s there in the first place. So it’s nothing to worry about, it’s just, very strange, and your brother really helped me a lot.” 

Gently Pap removed his hand and his grin stayed, “That explains why he worked so hard; he did it for you!” 

“You make that sound like it’s an obvious explanation,” you chuckled, blushing slightly.

Pap’s features turned to confusion, “…Oh, you don’t think it’s obvious…? Oh.”

“….oh?”

“…nothing! I should be off to bed!” He hopped off the counter and gave you a big squeeze, lifting you up from the ground, “Oh man, you have magic!! I can’t wait to talk more about it, and thank you again! Let’s both work hard to make my brother feel better, yes?”   
  
“Deal-!” you tried to breathe, but Pap’s hug was bone-crushing. He put you down and wished you goodnight before he practically skipped to bed, and you were left in the living room pondering about why Pap had found Sans’ effort towards you so obvious. You had a feeling why, but that had to be nonsense. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I wrote the chapter it just got longer and longer, so I chose to part it up in two! The next chapter should be up late today or tomorrow c: 
> 
> I've noticed that I've put in a lot of electro swing songs, and there's two specific songs I’ve had in mind while writing this fic, so I added them to my Sansfic playlist along with three other songs, two of them being classical pieces c: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhJoE3K1a-9Lb_M1IJou8dOLL07gYgqp4 I tried to order it so the listening experience makes sense mood wise!
> 
> Links on where to follow/find me!  
> A twitter specifically fic related for quick chats and updates, questions from me to the readers etc https://twitter.com/Dustyfanfics  
> My tumblr for art updates/if you have any questions or concerns! thedustyleaves.tumblr.com 
> 
> As always, feel free to comment, I love reading every single one! <3


	17. The end of an eventful year

“You’re not coming to the party?” Papyrus’ cry woke you up.  
Rubbing your tired eyes you looked into the kitchen, spotting the two brothers talking. Sans was haphazardly throwing together some pancakes, while shrugging at his brother, “Sorry Pap, I’m not really feeling up to it.” 

Papyrus groaned, “It’s only new years eve once…”

“I know, but you won’t be far away from me. It’s only in the gym hall.”

You managed to drag your ass into the kitchen with the blanket wrapped around your torso. Pap wished you good morning and nodding in return you spoke with a groggy voice, “I could stay here with you?” you looked to Sans and he shrugged again, “morning, and no, that won’t be necessary,” he chuckled, “pancakes?”

“Yes, please,” you nodded and sat down by the round kitchen table, “but really, I don’t mind. I could use a quiet new years after all the stress from the last couple of days.” Papyrus made an excited noise but shut his mouth by a sharp look from you. Serving you two pancakes each, Sans sighed, “I don’t want to keep any of you.”  
  
“You’re not. I’m keeping myself here, and Papyrus is still going to the party, right?”

Pap nodded, “yeah but, it just seems a little sad if you two are going to miss it?”

You shook your head, “Like I said, I do actually feel too tired to party,” and that wasn’t a lie, thus the smile you put one was genuine and eased Papyrus’ mind. Really what Pap was looking for, was for someone to take care of his brother, or for a way to bring his brother with him to the party so he could keep an eye on him himself, but if you were going to stay, then that problem was fixed. “As long as neither of you mind. The dinner starts at 6, so you still have time to change your mind! It’s gong to be great, okay? I got a perfect outfit picked out, and Mettaton even learned me how to dance!” Papyrus smiled and swallowed both pancakes whole, an impressive feat, before he rushed to the bathroom to get himself ready as early as possible. It didn’t take long before the water was running and he was singing one of Mettaton’s tunes. 

“Is he in love?” you smiled at Sans, and the small skeleton turned with a smirk from the stove, “so in love.”

He handed you a cup of tea and you held the warm cup between your hands, “that’s really adorable,” you smiled at the tune he was singing, subtle and soft, so unlike his usually booming loud voice.

“You know, you really don’t have to stay if you want to go.” Sans reassured you as he sat own opposite you.

“To be honest, I don’t want to go and party. I really am tired, and I don’t feel like drinking and staying up late and dealing with a hangover tomorrow.” You chuckled and Sans gave a sheepish smile, “If you’re sure.”

“I am. Don’t worry about it.” 

Papyrus spent the rest of the day preparing himself, while you and Sans watched him run from end of the room to the other, occasionally handing him the things he couldn’t find like his tie, cologne and polished shoes. You took care of the dishes while Sans remembered he had a bunch of pictures to show you and found them on his phone, so standing next to you he flicked through all the Christmas pictures. Papyrus stopped his getting-ready-session once in a while to peek over your shoulders and give comments such as, “I put the star on that tree over there!” and “Oh you should’ve seen Mettaton! He looked lovely that day! He always does!” Mettaton had put a pink tie on his calculator screen (which was not a calculator and he hated when you called him that, but he still looked like a calculator with wheels to you), and actually looked rather adorable.

Sans showed you the food, the decorations and explained about the traditions they had which were slightly different from yours, such as everybody received their presents at the same time, and they had to be brought to the receiver by the giver to bring luck.

You commented several times on the nice outfits everybody wore, like the lovely dress that Toriel had sown herself specifically for the occasion and the bells hanging around her horns, and the nice bowtie and shirt that was made for your favourite monster kid, and Doggo’s bowler hat and sweater vest. Sans had especially looked sharp as he had worn a suit and instead of the usual sneakers and slippers, they were exchanged with some nice black shoes, but only for a few hours until he had taken them off to walk around in just his socks.

 

Undyne came over around one pm to hand you back the keys to your apartment, and quickly had to rush out again to get ready with Alphys. They still had a lot of food to cook, and offered to bring some of it to you and Sans since you told her you wouldn’t come to the big party, but you declined and told her you would figure something out yourself.

There wasn’t any particularly special food in the fridge, so while Papyrus still had a few hours left to prepare himself and make his famous spaghetti dish, you and Sans walked to the store to pick up a bottle of champagne, some cake and two pizza’s and a bunch of snacks, and carry it all back to the house.

To look at least slightly nice for new years, you borrowed their shower (after making sure that Papyrus was done running in and out of it), and borrowed one of Sans’ few nice shirts and some black pants, that on him were actually too long, but on you they stopped right above your ankles and you needed a belt to keep them in place.

Sans wore a hoodie and one of his sweatpants, but as you stepped out of his room with his clothes on, he whistled with a blue tint to his cheeks, “I feel underdressed now.”

You bowed before him, “Why yes the oversized pants and bulky shirt really pulls it all together doesn’t it?”

“In fact it does,” Sans smiled and you laughed, taking it as a joke.

For the next hour, Papyrus finished up the meal and made it ready to pack down, while you sat in the couch and watched the Danish news station on your phone to keep track of when the Queen’s speech would begin. There was some time difference, so there were still a few hours left, and you were interrupted anyway by a bunch of new years messages, including one from John. You smiled as you read through it; _‘Hey! Sorry about the late message, got caught up with some stuff! If you’re still up for our hangout, we can go to the movies the day after tomorrow? :) Have a great New Years eve!’_  

As you texted back, Sans sat down next to you after having helped his brother, “what are you smiling at?” he grinned. 

“Hm? Oh someone just wrote to me,” you texted back to him _‘Hey! No worries, same for me. And yes ofc, I’m always up for movies P: Happy new year!’_

“Matilde?” he asked. You were impressed he could remember her name but shook your head, “no, it’s someone called John from the band I performed with.”

Sans smile suddenly went stiff, “Oh. Is he the guy who asked you out?”

“Yeah- wait no, he didn’t ask me out, it’s just a movie- wait you heard that?”

“You were standing right next to me.” He gritted his teeth and you chuckled, “I’ll make sure to arrange movie nights far away from your range of hearing then!”  
  
“That’s not what I meant-“

“Do you want to join for the movies?”

“No! Or yes- kind of, but not in that way!”  
  
“Not what way?” You lifted a brow, not comprehending what he was getting at right now and Sans groaned, “not with him!”  
“Well that’s alright, we can go you and I sometime? After you’re allowed to actually go into town that is…”  
Sans nodded, but he still seemed frustrated and you couldn’t quite put your finger on why, so you got up and squeezed his shoulder, “I’ll go and help Pap.”

Sans stayed on the couch but when you went into the kitchen, Papyrus was standing in the doorway, looking surprised at your sudden closeness and immediately turned around to put the last bowl into his bag, “Hey there!” his voice was awfully high, “I got it all packed up and ready, so I’ll be on my way!” Rushing to the door with his bags of food he quickly said goodbye to Sans and gave you a hug as much as the bags allowed, before leaving with a “Happy New Year!” shouted back at you.

You laughed at his urgent nature. “Pizza time?” Sans offered and with a nod you prepared your ever so luxurious dinner for the evening. It only had to be put into the oven, but meanwhile you poured your snacks into bowls and took out two cokes to put on the coffee table. While you decorated the table, Sans lead the conversation back to a question he had yesterday; religion, and you were off explaining it once more. This time you were more confident, explaining how God created Adam and Eve, and that God was a figure that various religions worshipped in various ways. Just as with Undyne, the conversation continued to branch out into more and more difficult subjects, some you couldn’t answer and only had opinions on, or had to quickly Google on your phone to find the answer. In return you asked Sans, “Undyne said that you worshipped Stars?”

“Yes, we’ve always seen figures and patterns in the stars and mapped them out, named them, given them meaning and personality,” he explained, “the crystals in the caves in the underground are exact replicas of the sky.” 

“You sound like you’re not much of a believer?”

“I don’t know what I am,” Sans shrugged, “In a way I do find our zodiacs more believable as a form of creators of the earth than your god, but at the same time I’m a scientist and I want logical answers, you know? But Science can’t explain everything.” He sat down on the couch again and turned on the TV, finding the channel that showed the local news and were currently counting down the hours until new years. 

“True that.” You agreed and sat down next to him on the armrest of the couch, “I guess I’m somewhat the same. But you said they were called Zodiacs?”

“Yeah, all our “gods” are called that, I guess Zodiac, for us, is just another word for God really.”

“That’s funny- we have zodiacs too,” to demonstrate you pulled out your phone again and found a picture of the zodiacs you knew in your country, and Sans’s eyes widened, “That’s one of our Zodiacs…” he pointed at the Capricorn, “but it looks slightly different. And that one-“ this time it was the Sagittarius, “but ours doesn’t have a human body on it,” he lifted one brow, looking rather confused by your version.

Sparked by an idea you flicked your head towards him, “You think our zodiacs could’ve originated form yours?”

He blinked at you before smiling, “It would make sense wouldn’t it?”

“Okay, what about this. Undyne commented that it reminded her of Muffet,” you found a picture of the same god you had showed Undyne with several pairs of arms and Sans chuckled, “I can see the resemblance, but it’s more human-like than Muffet.” 

“Exactly! I thought it might be because the design could’ve changed over the years or something, maybe they actually worshipped monsters at some point?"

“That would be controversial,” Sans smiled, intrigued by the idea, “Could be that a monster actually looked like this once. Or close to.” 

“Really?”

“Yeah, monsters change shape by thought and pure will over many generations, with limits of course, and they don’t have to be organic, like the monster you met you thought looked like a plane.”  
  
“And the one like a bucket!” you added, to which Sans smiled, your curiosity and interest beaming from every inch of your body. 

Your conversation was cut off when your phone rang, indicating that the food was done and that the new years program in Denmark was about to kick in. Quickly you took out of the pizzas, cut them out and put them on the table and connected the skele-bros’ console to the Internet so you could watch the program on their TV, “sorry this is going to be in Danish, but it’s a tradition for me to watch it.”  
It didn’t take long for Sans to realize that he didn’t understand a word of what they were saying, (neither did you really for that matter), and he put his attention on the food. He asked after having eaten two slices, “Do you actually understand what they’re saying?”  
  
“If they speak slowly, yes, but right now? Nope, not at all. My grandparents are from Denmark and they’ve taught me a bit.” You smiled and swallowed a piece of your food. 

“Neato.” 

Even if Sans didn’t get anything, he still watched the program, simply because you did. When the Queen’s speech came on you sat completely still and watched her, reading the Danish subtitles they always put on so the hearing impaired could follow along with her, and tried to get as much as you could out of it. You seriously needed to work on improving your Danish, you only got the gist of the political problems they were currently going through, but mostly you caught that she wished everybody a happy new year and that we should all take care of each other, and tell loved ones that we love them. She ended with her famous ‘Gud Bevare Danmark,’ and so you turned the console to Spotify to put on proper party music. Sans took that as a sign to put a deck of cards on the table, and while eating the rest of your pizza, you played a simple game of go-fish. You swung with your head to the rhythm of the music, not noticing that Sans was squinting his eyes until he shouted, “You do know that you’re magnifying the music right?”

And just like that you stopped and the volume went back to normal, “Oh shit- sorry! I didn’t notice!”

“I figured,” he laughed, “go fish.”

When the card games got too boring, you changed to videogames instead as Sans had gotten a few from his friends, including Assassins Creed Syndicate and fallout 4. You started with syndicate and made a rule that whenever you messed up, the other had to take the controller. Messing up meant, whenever you got caught or didn’t follow the missions rules, and you couldn’t count how many times you killed bounty-hunt targets that shouldn’t be killed or heard a guard yell, ‘Hey, you there!’ and had to hand the controller back to Sans. It was so incredibly cosy, just laughing and enjoying each other’s company and before you knew it, it was only ten minutes to twelve.

You fetched the champagne from the kitchen and poured two glasses to the brim and handed one to Sans, “We have to jump from the couch when it strikes 12!”

“Is that a tradition here?” he chuckled.

“It’s so you literally _jump_ into the New Year!” you clarified and put the news channel on for the countdown.

“What other traditions do you have?” Sans curiously asked, sitting on the back of the sofa so he was ready to stand up and jump, “It changes from country to country, but I know that in Denmark you have to put old broken dishes in front of your front door and throw them on your friends door. I’ve forgotten why and I’m not sure how many actually do it,” you laughed when Sans looked oddly at you, “some people say you also have to kiss someone when the clock strikes twelve.” You wiggled your eyebrows and Sans turned away from you with a chuckle.

When there was only ten seconds left, you were standing on the couch, holding hands and counting down loudly together, until the clock struck exactly twelve and with a high jump you were down on the floor. You realized that Sans didn’t know the next part when he looked confused at the screen showcasing the explosion of colours, so taking your champagne glasses and his hand, you rushed him into the cold garden and showed him the sky, glittering and filing up with glowing fireworks of all colours and shapes. His eyes were fixed upon them, and he barely noticed you handed him his glass.

“What are they?” he asked, and you smiled, “Fireworks. Small explosions really,” raising your glass to him and he clinked it with yours, “Happy New Year Sans.”

“Happy New Year,” his hand never left yours as you watched the colourful display, and only until he had finished his drink and he put it on the grass, he spoke again, “About that other tradition…”

“The throwing dishes one?” you looked at him and he shook his head, “Nah, the other one.”

And just like that, he took your chin in his hand and led you in for a kiss, placing his rough bony lips on your soft skin, and you let him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finally, the kiss. Dun dun DUUUN. 
> 
> A few helpful links!  
> My twitter where I post all things fic related and questions for the readers etc! It's spoilerfree! https://twitter.com/Dustyfanfics  
> And my tumblr thedusyleaves.tumblr.com c: 
> 
> Finally I got to write new years aslkdjla I've caught up with the holidays HAHA!


	18. The man in the void

_Welcome_  
The familiarity of the black void enveloped you and you stepped forward, thanking him. It felt strange to remember a whole set of memories that had been locked away, all from dreams before, washing over you the instant you stepped into this world, but it made you realize why you were here. 

The gestures in your mind seemed to smile as they recognized your goal.  
_Yes. I do believe I promised you something._  

There was a slight hesitance in the air and the dark turned to grey, formed to white and finally a warm yellow. The sound of something dragging came closer thus you turned around.

A large draped black form approached you, hunched over and slow, every step calculated and worn, and only when it was right in front of you, did it move up its head, revealing a mask of a smiling face with two large cracks in it, one going up over the left eye and one going down over the right.

The cape that was held so tightly around him, he loosened only for a moment to offer a hand to shake, revealing a large gaping hole going straight through it, “My name is W. D. Gaster. Most, simply called me Gaster. I am pleased to meet you.”

The voice came as a strained mumble directly in your head, letting the mask stay unmoved, and you extended your hand to shake his, “Likewise.”

You thought you could feel a smile from behind the mask, and as he let go, he urged you to follow him. Only moments before there had been no colours or defined space around you, but now, you were in a long clinically clean corridor. The man walked next to you, and you had to shorten the length of your steps to let him keep up with you, “Are we going anywhere specific?”

He shook his head, “Simply walking.” 

You nodded and stuffed your hands into your pockets before asking the next question on your mind, “I’m sorry for being so intrusive, but who are you exactly?”

Gaster’s shoulder’s raised with a sigh. He knew this question would come and he rose himself up the slightest, growing an inch taller, “What I am, comes after who I was,” he stated, “If you care to listen to an old man’s tale?”

“Please,” you urged him to continue, a smile on your lips.

He nodded, “I was a citizen of the underground, specifically the Hotlands, a place I know you’ve visited. I was formerly one of the royal scientists, a mentor, a friend, a father figure, and endorsed with a never ending thirst for new discoveries in my field, which ultimately became my undoing.”

That was an incredibly short summary of a man’s entire life, but it seemed painful for him to talk about, or closer to shameful rather, “How did it become your undoing?” you asked curiously and his shoulders sunk, “with an experiment I took too far. It destroyed the lab I was working in, took me, and a few of my assistants with it.”

You frowned, finding recognition in his words, “Is that how you ended up here?” 

“You catch on quick.” He replied, a sense of humour finding his stature.

You smiled although a little nervous, not finding this a laughing matter. The next question you were afraid was going to be a tad more personal, but now that you finally had him here in front of you, you wanted to know. Besides, you had a feeling that he did this because he knew how many questions you harboured;

“when you worked in the labs, did you know Sans or Alphys?”

He straightened up to his full length, now towering above you but in no way threatening, “Yes,” he replied, rigid and stoic, “although they did not work in the royal labs at the time, they were too young. I was their mentor." 

“You were?” you instantly said, your head turned up at him.

“Yes. They were supposed to eventually take the place of my colleague and I, but as you have no doubt found out, only Alphys decided to continue her field of work after the accident.”

“Why was that?”

Gaster stopped and turned to you, hunching forward once more and aging in his speed of thought and body, “If I tell you this, I’m afraid I will reveal something about your dear friend Sans, that he has kept a secret from you thus far.”

You frowned and looked away, nodding subtly, “Right…”

“It is not only his story to tell as I was part of it too, but you are on the receiving end of the information. Do you want to hear it from me?”

Shaking your head you replied, “No. Ill ask him instead,” you smiled before grimacing, “if I even remember to, after I wake up.”

“You will. I will make sure of it.”

You felt your body being pulled away from Gaster, “Hold on! I have one more question-“

 

You woke up on the couch disoriented and confused. The world around you was spinning, shifting between the warm yellows of the corridor, and the cold blue morning in the living room. When you tried to tumble out of bed, your legs gave in and you fell to the ground, feeling a sudden pain in your abdomen and a clumsy noise escaped your mouth, letting you know that it did in fact hurt a lot.

Touching your side just made it worse and with some reluctance, you managed to get up on your legs, bumping into the table next to the couch on the way to the bathroom.

Standing in front of the mirror, you took a second to regain your balance and courage before pulling up the top of your pyjamas. Right there you saw a bright red burn mark starting at your hip, in the shape of half a circle, and a line extending up to the beginning of your ribs. You didn’t scream, but you made half of an attempt at it and groaned instead when it hurt too much. He did make sure you would remember didn’t he?

You had a burn mark on your stomach. His mark. A brand. How dared he? How did he even manage to put it on you in the living world!? 

You were on the floor again, trying to hold on the mark as it kept burning, but it stung to touch it, and you only looked up when Sans rushed into the bathroom in his sleeping wear, looking worriedly at you, “What’s going on?” he approached you and put his hands on your shoulders, and you all but blurted out, “this!” hissing as you removed the shirt again, showing the burn.  
Sans’ hands tightened their grip on you, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to form a question. The white of eyes were gone when he locked them with yours, “What the hell happened?”

He sounded angry, furious even. Seeing how mad he was even fuelled your own anger. “That fucker!” you spat, “Fucking marked me!”

“You know him?” Sans asked carefully, the white little dots returning to his eyes, “You know who gave you that mark?”

“He said his name was Gaster-“ you winched when Sans’ bones dug into your shoulder and quickly he released his grip, “I’m sorry,” he murmured, “Why? How did it happen?”

Sans was more worked up about this then you were, and you almost regretted not having asked Gaster for the full story, “It was in his- I don’t know, his void or something, I’ve been there in my dreams before, but every time I woke up, I forgot about it, but this time, he actually presented himself for me.” Sans listened intently, beads of sweat forming on his skull; “keep talking, I’ll get you some of the night shade to take the pain away, okay?” he reluctantly stood up to get some of the seaweed-goo from the cabin from a small container he had kept for himself.

“We’ve talked a few times, or not talked, I don’t know what it is, but his words just appeared in my head- sounds fucking stupid when I say it out loud.” 

“It’s not stupid. He can’t speak, he uses his own sign language, but I don’t get how you’re able to understand him.” He picked up a few pieces from the container and handed them to you, “keep going.”

Swallowing the disgusting slime a shiver ran through your body, but slowly you felt better as it made it’s way down your throat, “I didn’t understand him at first, it happened suddenly. But this time, he said he would appear before me, because I had sought after him, whatever the hell that means,” you fumed, like hell you would seek after something that was pure nightmare fuel. “And he told me a bit about who he was and what he did before he was involved in an accident, at the same lab you where in-“ Sans winced “-and then I said I would ask you about the rest, if I could even remember the conversation when I woke up.” You fisted your hands, “he said that he would make sure that I did, and I woke up with this,” you touched the mark again, the pain having subsided to an irritable sting. 

Sans didn’t look like he could speak anytime soon and instead gestured for you to remove your hand so he could take a look. As gently a he could he ran his fingers over the mark, surveying the damage, “I don’t know if this is permanent or not…” he admitted, his voice a shiver.

Your stomach turned. Bringing a hand up to your face you pinched the bridge of your nose and continued to run your fingers through your hair, your eyes burning “Great…” you didn’t want to be permanently scarred with someone else’s mark. 

“I’ve never seen him do this to anyone,” Sans’s voice was low and riddled with confusion, “He’s always been so stoic and calm to the point of it being irritating, I can’t imagine him damaging someone permanently,” he spoke quickly and calculated, scratching the base of his skull as you studied his features.  
  
Everything that had happened the night before, the kiss, the awkward walk back to the living room and the even more awkward goodnight when you went to sleep in separate rooms, and the fear of what would happen the day after; that was all gone. It all seemed irrelevant now.

“Sans…” You caught his attention, “What happened back then?”

Guiltily he cast his eyes down again. He didn’t want to tell you, he seriously didn’t, but looking at that mark forced upon your skin, even to you it was clear that that is what made him nod and get up from the floor again, “Let me just, uh, make some coffee or tea or something… It would probably be good for you as well.”

You nodded and followed him up, “Tea, yeah” and followed him to the kitchen. When you passed the stairs you heard the loud snores from Papyrus upstairs. You hadn’t even heard him return home, and either he had been incredibly quiet, or you had been too far away in the void to hear him. The later thought boiled your blood.

Sitting in the kitchen was strangely awkward, with you simply staring at Sans as he prepared the tea, and soon enough you had cast your eyes away to focus on something else. While waiting for the water to boil, Sans hoisted himself up on the counter to sit while you took a chair by the table. He was fidgeting with his hands, “I don’t know how to start,” he huffed out a chuckle and you frowned, knowing how much this hurt him, but it hurt you too. You wanted closure in some sense.

“Start with Gaster?” you offered, and softly he nodded back.

“I don’t know how much he told you, but he was a royal scientist at the labs while me and Alphys were still being mentored, and he was our personal mentor,” you nodded in recognition and he continued, “To me he was… also a lot more. Pap and I, we uh, lost our parents to the war-“ 

“Hold op-“ you interrupted him, “Undyne told me you were just 17 back in the labs, but didn’t the war happen several hundred years ago?”

“She forgot to tell you that we count our lifespan differently from yours, but she wouldn’t know,” he smiled vaguely, “each of our years, would be like ten years to you. At least that is what Gaster told me.”

You raised your eyebrows, “You were 170?”

“And 250 now.”

“Holy shit.”

He couldn’t hold back his laugh, “Sorry, that’s probably bit of a surprise.”

“No kidding! 250? Twohundre-“ you stopped talking to hold your head between your handed and looked away like you were in the office, staring into nothing with an expression that could only be read as: done. “Oh well. Go on,” you spoke in a voice higher than normal and Sans chuckled, “Our parents died after Papyrus was born, he was only 1 year old and I was 4, but Grillby more or less took us in and helped us get by, as did many others,” this was not a part he minded talking about, clearly shown by his calmer expression.

“Lots of stuff happened after that; growing up, getting used to living in Snowdin, getting a house, jobs and taking care of ourselves and each other. It wasn’t until I got to know Alphys that I met Gaster. Gaster is her Uncle.”

“No kidding?” You frowned, “He didn’t look very related to her,” you commented hesitantly, not knowing how much genes had something to say in the monster world.

“That’s due to the accident…” he explained, “before that he looked like a lizard with one of those… uhm, umbrella’s? Sticking out behind his neck. It popped up whenever he got scared or if we pranked him.”

“I can imagine that happened a lot?”

“Oh yeah,” he chuckled, seeming more at ease now, but his death grip on the edge of the counter did not go unnoticed by you. 

The kettle was done boiling thus Sans hopped off the counter to pour the water into two cups with en earl grey tea in each, before carefully handing one cup to you as he sat down on the opposite chair.

“Anyways…” he held the cup protectively in his hand, “both Alphys and I were very interested in science, her uncle noticed and took us in when I was about 16 and a half, and we worked closely with him until I was around 24. He… well, he became much like father too me…” Sans almost looked ashamed to admit it, but you tilted your head slightly, smiling shortly at him, “no wonder with all the time you must’ve spent together.”

He nodded, “Yeah… one day, Gaster and the King got the idea to make a time machine. It sounds crazy, I know,” he commented on the look you gave him, “but it was actually, sort of working. He could make a machine that warped the fabric of space, making him able to jump from one area of the underground to another.”

That sounded oddly familiar.

Sans continued, “The machine was based off of my magic. All I could do back then was levitate stuff and speed up or slow down my movements or isolated objects. Gaster had a theory that he could take that magic, and expand on it.”

He swallowed, biting his lower lip and curling his fingers around the cup. You finished a gulp of your tea before putting your cup down and covered his hands with yours, “…I take it, it didn’t work?” you asked quietly, offering him something to start from again with.

Another nod. He kept his eyes down on the liquid before him, “It was so close to working. So damn close. But it couldn’t work. He pushed it too far too soon, it began to break down. I tried to reach in, and I almost got sucked in with him. The left side of my body… my eye and arm were torn to pieces and gathered again, over and over inside of the machine. He kicked me out of it, saving me but… condemning himself.”

You rose from your seat and walked to Sans’s side, standing on your knees next to him and gently bringing him into a hug. He didn’t cry, but he hid his face in the crook of your neck, and let his arms hang limp by his side, “he’s stuck in between time, and it affected the entire underground… I-I guess, after you broke the barrier, a part of him came with me, and perhaps you. I can see him and remember him, because I was affected by the accident, but no one else can… I don’t know why you can.” He sounded so guilty, like he was responsible for your pain and you turned your face just enough to see him, “There’s an explanation for it somewhere out there, I know it. And it has nothing to do with you.” You spoke with certainty, “Thank you for telling me this. Thank you so much.” You hugged him tighter and he returned the embrace, his arms hanging over your shoulders. “Thank you for listening to this mess,” he chuckled and you shook your head, “you’re not a mess.”

He lifted himself up slightly and stared at you for a while, “There’s more to the story… a few things more,” but you shook your head again, “don’t tell me now. You’ve already told me enough. Next time I dream about Gaster, I know that I now have to 1. Kick him in the face for branding me, and 2. Thank him for being a great guy.”

The skeleton laughed, “I’d like to see that,” he eyed your hip for a bit before talking, “I forgot to tell you… that mark; it’s his signature. He’s always missed the middle of his hands, I don’t know why. But he used it as a joke most of the time and signed his work with half a circle, being the hole, and a line, that would be a line to indicate his index finger.”

Your eyes widened with peeked interest although you admitted, “that’s really creepy. Cool, and no one would ever think of doing the same. But creepy.”

Sans only managed to chuckle in response before the doorbell rang, and before he could get up, you stood up instead and went to the door, meeting the tooth-grinning police officer, joined by the ever so annoying tick-tock noise he brought with him.

“Hello Officer,” you corrected your pyjamas as best as you could, suddenly very aware of yourself.

“Good lovely morning!”

Tick Tock. Where the hell did that noise come from? He didn’t wear any wrist watch as far as you could tell.

“I was just here to check if everything is in order?” He smiled, one hand on his gun and the other up for a wave as he smiled back at Sans by the table. “Did you have a good New Years Eve? The firework was splendid wasn’t it?”

Tick Tock. 

“Very! Everything should be fine. We just have a sleepy brother upstairs and two tired people down here,” you tried to match his smile, but if you tried any harder you were afraid your face might get stuck.

Tick Tock.

You listened harder, now intent with irritation to find the source of the noise and located it from his chest. Could it be a pendant around his neck that ticked?

“That sounds absolutely wonderful!” he replied and saluted you, “I hope you have a terrific day then!”

You didn’t reply, you focus completely stolen as you eyes and ears were focused on his chest.  
  
“Hm?” he tried to catch your attention, and you snapped your head up, “yes! You too! Bye bye!”

He looked a little confused, still smiling, before he turned around and left, waving as he did. You closed the door slowly to not seem too eager to get him out of earshot before turning to Sans, your face drained of colour. The skeleton noticed instantly, “What’s wrong?” to which your voice wavered, “he didn’t have a heartbeat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tadaaa! The mystery man has been revealed! Although most of you had already guessed who it was, haha! I have a bunch of sherlock holmes following this story! 
> 
> It's over 8000 views and 400 kudos. I am just absolutely floored, thank you so much for your support, it means the world to me and it keeps me going with this story <3 Your comments and support is what fuels my drive! 
> 
> Handy Dandy links!  
> twitter all about the fic and my thoughts. It's spoilerfree! https://twitter.com/Dustyfanfics  
> tumblr thedusyleaves.tumblr.com
> 
> Thank you and have a lovely week! <3


	19. Back to business

“Alright… try to explain it again, this time; slowly.”

You tugged harshly at your hair and let go with an exasperated sigh, “There was no heart.” You explained sternly, “I swear it. There was only the sound of mechanisms and clock-work ticking about in his chest! There wasn’t even a pulse!”

“And you’re sure you heard it from him? And not from an actual clock miles away?” Sans asked to which you burst, “It’s my ears Sans! I bloody well know what I heard and where it came from!” 

“I’m sorry-“ he put his hands up and approached you by the couch, “I didn’t mean to offend you in any way it’s just- these powers are new-“

You interrupted him before he could finish, “I can constantly hear the pulses from your souls, humans included, so why couldn’t I hear his?”

Sans blinked, looking stunned for a second, “you can hear souls?”

“Yes, like pulses, or flickering flames, it’s hard to describe, but no matter what; he didn’t have it!”  
  
The skeleton bit his lower lip for a moment, “If he is mechanical, it’d explain that stiff grin of his,” he tried to lighten the mood, earning a slight huff from you. “Alright, say that he is mechanic, what then?” 

You shrugged, “I don’t know! We call someone?” you supported your head in your palms and leaned against your knees, sighing heavily, “I don’t know… nothing I guess. It just freaks me out.”

“Can’t blame ya’ for that,” Sans huffed and sat down next to you. In that same moment, Papyrus’ door opened and out came the incredibly hung-over lanky skeleton, who all but tumbled down the stairs with a long groan as he made his way to the kitchen. You and Sans watched as he stood in there, moaning a ‘morning’ your way as he looked for the leftovers he brought back home, and sat down to eat his cold spaghetti. Sans patted your knee, offering you a smile before he left to help his brother to some aspirins and a bottle of water, asking how he was doing. 

Meanwhile, you kept thinking about the officer. You swore he had no heartbeat, but the more you thought about it, the more you were in doubt of what you had actually heard. Maybe Sans was right, it could’ve been a noise miles away, but that ticking had always occurred whenever he was near. Except for that one time when he visited Toriel’s place way before Christmas... but didn’t you wear the bracelet back then? That could’ve been why you hadn’t heard him. Or maybe Sans was just plain right and you didn’t even have minimum control over your magic. Still… something seemed wrong, and that nagging feeling wasn’t something you were going to let go of anytime soon. You may not have been able to do anything right in that moment, but you were going to be damn sure to keep your eyes, and especially ears, peeled for the future.

Your thoughts were broken when your phone rang. You didn’t look at who it was before picking it up, “Hello?”  
  
“Hi there! It’s Adam, I hope I’m not disturbing?”  
  
“Adam! Hello! No it’s totally fine.” Sans peeked his head out from the kitchen by the mention of Adam’s name.  
  
“Great! Did you have a good new years eve?”

“Yes, it was nice and relaxed, nothing too fancy, and you?”

“Good, good! Listen, I actually called you because there has been a change of plans. You know that we agreed to start the integration of the monsters into human society about a month or two from now right? Seeing as the community they’ve established right now is doing so well, we’ve managed to push things forward and announce their existence by the end of this week.”

You sat up from the couch, trying to form words, “What? Really?! This week!?” You were caught in a mix between pure terror of what might happen and excitement for it actually happening, that Adam chuckled at your voice and continued, “Yes! But that also means that we have to pull you into the office, along with the King and Miss Toriel to discuss the plans we’ve currently laid out, and to go over your role in this. It will take up a significant amount of your time.”  
  
“That’s totally fine, I knew that going into it!” You quickly agreed and laughed, not knowing what other noise to make, “when should we be there?”  
  
“Tomorrow, preferably! I’ll be calling the King and Miss Toriel to confirm it with them. Does 10’ clock sound good?” 

“That’s perfect! I’ll see you tomorrow then!”

“Splendid! I’ll see you then!” Adam hung up and you stared at your phone with a fixed smile, trying to comprehend the surreal call you just had. Sans stared at you with growing curiosity, and even Papyrus in his dazed state looked at you like you were in a worse state than him. “So?” Sans inquired and you rushed over, “Adam just called, they want to start the integration of the monsters into human society by the end of the week!”

Papyrus’ head perked up, but Sans was ahead of him, “I thought that was way into the future?”

“They changed their mind! They said things are going so well that they want to do it as fast as possible.”  
  
Sans’ grin widened, although there was a slight tremor to it, “neato,” he concluded breathless. Papyrus raised a weak arm with a half-dead ‘yay’ and you chuckled, “I’ll have to go in there tomorrow and meet with them to confirm the plan.”  
  
“I guess we won’t be seeing much of you then?”

You frowned at Sans, “probably not for the first few weeks or so, but after that it should be easier with you being able to be in town and all- I hope.”

He nodded and you stood in a moment of silence before speaking again, “I’ll go grab my stuff. I should probably head back to my apartment and fix myself up a bit before tomorrow,” to which he simply nodded again. You didn’t have a lot of stuff to pack and you wore your dirty clothes rather than carrying them, so you wouldn’t have to borrow more of your friend’s clothes. You were loosing track of whom you had yet to give back their stuff and from whom they were even borrowed.

As you packed, Sans went up to his bedroom and picked up a few things before coming back down to the living room, handing you a small box of the seaweed and his crystal balls, “are you sure you want to go home? Things are moving awfully fast right now with, uh…” he lowered his voice “…you magic, Gaster and all that, the officer and now this?”

Biting your lip you shrugged, “I don’t feel like I have much of a choice,” you admitted, “but I want a day at home for myself before the chaos unfolds.” You chuckled, “I need a bit of alone time… especially because of all those things. But I don’t know, I guess it’s a lot, but I kind of like that I get to be distracted with being an ambassador again." 

“Just don’t work yourself down to the bone in an attempt to forget what’s happening around you, yeah?” he spoke so directly to a specific part of you that you clutched the crystal balls in your hand before packing them into your pockets, “I’ll try to remember that."

“Good,” leaning up he gave you a quick peck on the cheek and you swore you heard Papyrus’s interest peeking by the sound of his pulsing soul. With shifty eyes you huffed, “right… I’ll uh, see you later,” you smiled and went for the door, giving a quick wave to Papyrus before leaving. Before you could close the door, Sans put his foot in the way “…I think you’ve already noticed this, but I’m… not very good at talking about feelings and problems, but… just call if something comes up, yeah?” he cast his eyes down by the end of the sentence and you nodded even if he couldn’t see it, “Thanks Sans.”

Sans shrugged and scratched the back of his head before he closed the door behind you, and just like that, it felt like he had closed a chapter in a book. Stepping unto the streets was your first step into a whole new set of problems, away from one battle-field you had only just learned to maneuver through, and cast into a new one. It felt almost wrong to leave the skele-brothers house.

Rather than walking, you took a bus to make the trip home shorter, and avoided listening to music to not blast away the other commuters by accident. You quickly texted your mother and father to let them know that you were heading home and that New years had gone well, a conversation that was cut short with a _‘glad to know! Ours was great too : )’_ from your dad.

Back in your apartment, everything was as you had left it, except for the stuff Undyne had dropped off neatly on your coffee table. Before delving into any work or major thoughts about ticking officers and nerve-wrecking ambassordor meetings, you dropped the last of your things on the floor and stripped down to hop in the shower. 

Even with the noisy water hitting your back and crashing to the ground, it still echoed throughout the apartment, letting you know just how alone you were right now. It was strange being in such a quiet place after several days with talkative friends and emotional rollercoasters from morning till’ evening. So many things had happened these past few days, that it was only when your hand touched the still sore mark, that you remembered Gaster’s brand on your side. Even if it was so clear and present and it had appeared just this morning, you had still managed to blissfully forget it and you were almost disappointed with yourself for remembering it again. 

You spent a long while with a towel around your head in your pyjamas and fluffiest socks, watching mindless TV and telling yourself that you were waiting to recharge to finally do what you were putting off.

The meeting was something you’d definetly have to prepare at least _something_ for, but you hadn’t the silghest clue what that might be. You were not a law student or any kind, in fact you had considered going to several schools in the creative field, perhaps art or music, or maybe even zoology or ancient greek, but law was a field far beyond your expertise. Which reminded you: your plans to look into uni’s to sign up for, for the next semester, would probably have to be pushed ahead a bit. Quite a bit.

Then came the thoughts of what would ultimately follow the reveal on friday; everybody would know about monsters by the end of the week. All you friends you had kept it a secret from, all your distant family members, old classmates and teachers, your doctor, that guy down in the 7/11, the entire town; they would all know. And how were you supposed to deal with that? The first friend that popped into your head was Matilde; no matter what you didn’t want her to find out the same way as everybody else, or worse, by mouth to mouth because she rarely watched the news on TV and was always the slowest at catching on with national events, much like yourself. Caught by a random thought, you texted Papyrus; _‘Hey Pap, I hope you’re doing better! I was just thinking about the whole monsters being revealed by the end of the week thing, and I really want my friend Matilde to know before everybody else does… could you perhaps help me revealing it to her? By just being present?’_  

You initially wanted to ask Sans if he could help convince your friend, but considering that she had poked him in the eye socket, it was probably best to start out with someone else. 

While you waited for him to reply, scared of receiving a blunt no, you called your dad to tell him about the meeting with the government. You knew he’d be way more interested in it than your mom, and much more helpful as he actually had experience in talking to large crowds and at important business meetings. Rather than teling you what to say, he merely guided you in advicing you to stay relaxed. As he correctly pointed out, “they won’t expect you to be on par with their ways of speaking or doing business, they know you’re only twenty-two, so be respectful and polite and ask questions when you need to.” Even if you knew this already, and you knew that you shouldn’t worry about the town’s reaction to monsters until the actual moment you’d have to face their reactions, it was still nice to have a figure of authority to remind you that it was okay to not worry about everything all at once. 

Papyrus’s message waited for you when the phonecall was over; ‘ _It’s better so YAY :o) AND SURE! I’D LOVE THAT!’_

Smiling you replied back, _‘Thank you so much! I’ll talk to you later when I know when it can be done!’_ _  
_

_'Sure thing!! I always got time!’_

And so you contacted your third person this evening, and an hour had already passed. You called her to let her know that you finally had time to meet and that it should definitely be in three days, and as sweet as she was, she agreed to come over on the condition that it involved alcohol and videogames, preferably the 1st person shooter ones. Finalizing the plan with Papyrus, letting him know he should meet an hour before, you could finally let out a heavy sigh. So good, so far. You had a tendency to be erractic when things needed to get fixed, you wanted them done the moment you were reminded that they had to be done, but you also feared doing them, so as soon as they were out of the way, you physically felt lighter. 

Quickly you fixed up some dinner of whatever was in your kitchen; some rice and a frozen veggie mix would have to do, and you settled on your couch with your phone and resumed to watching mindless TV.

Now there were two things left to ponder about; Sans, and sleep.

Sleep would be a battle you’d have to face when you went to bed, but you sorely hoped you wouldn’t have to meet Gaster tonight as you could use a bit of blank dreams before tomorrow, but Sans… every time you merely thought of him, your stomach leapt. It was half a mix of excitement for a kiss that had happened so fast, you weren’t sure it even happened, and half a mix of anxiety for what was going to happen it the kiss had been real. You wanted to take Sans up on the offer to call him and talk, mostly because you felt like you needed someone to talk to and fill the silence in your apartment, but you couldn’t explain the fear of every possible thing that could wrong, would go wrong, if you called. Even if you didn’t know what those wrongs things were. 

When most of the day had passed and you had settled into your bed, you chose to text him instead, deciding to stay as casual as possible _‘I’m nervous about tomorrow, urgh… thank you for new years, despite the strange wake-up call the day after, I had a really nice time <3’ _ 

Bting your lip you waited for a reply, but you only had to wait for a minute before he texted, _‘A bit of nerves is always good. Let me know how it goes when it’s done? And right back at you <3 how is the scar?’ _

You couldn’t recall if Sans had put a heart in his texts before, and even if he had, only now did it make you smile so softly, _‘I will : ) And it’s alright. A bit sore, but better. I should probably get some sleep though, I’ll talk to you tomorrow!’_

_‘That’s good. And sleep well. Tell G to stay away for tonight. VUV’_

_‘That’s not how you use v u v…’_

_‘Well you never told me how to v U v’_

_‘o EEEE o’_

_‘…the heck is that’_

_‘Gnight sans <3’ _

_‘…Not fair … <3’ _

 

You felt like a giddy kid who had just discovered their first crush on the playground, and without shame, you giggled and held your phone as you tried to sleep. You didn’t get the much needed sleep you had hoped for, but instead rustled from one side of the bed to the other, switching position and taking your duvet on and off in and attempt to get comfortable, but you only grew more and more agitated by the hour. Ironically you fell asleep only a few minutes before your alarm clock went off, and never had you wanted to smash your phone this much. On the bright side, you didn’t get to see Gaster. 

Despite your lack of sleep, you managed to get yourself ready on nerves and stubbornness, skipped breakfast and hopped on a bus to go to the office of the Prime Minister.

The entire trip there became increasingly nerve wrecking, felt clearly by your shaking hands in your pockets. It had been so long since you had last talked to the Prime Minister, it felt like being introduced to a new person all over again. A new and very important person.

You met up with Toriel and Asgore at the back entrance to the building, and felt some comfort in how calm Toriel kept herself, and how regal Asgore seemed; an admirable trait, although rarely seen these days. Adam came out of the door with a large smile and greeted you, taking you inside as he had done months ago, and your stomach turned. The feeling of being responsible for other people’s lives came rushing back, something that both lifted you with adrenaline and pushed you with dread. 

The place had become far more interesting since last time; with heightened senses you heard the whispers behind corridors of important papers being delivered with discretion, and the hurried footsteps of secretaries carrying scolding hot coffee, while whispering gossip. There was the pleasant hum of Toriel’s pulse and the steady beat of Asgore’s, and in return, Adam’s was as monotone as ever. You supposed he was so used to this environment by now, that he didn’t feel as easily unnerved about approaching the Prime Minister. 

The only thing, or person, that came to bother you, was when a familiar ticking noise came sneaking into your ear, and by the front door to the Prime Minster, stood the officer who had been patrolling in the old town. Giving you a friendly nod he acknowledged you and Adam chimed in, “This if officer Janus Apatow I believe you’ve met each other?”

You nodded, taking note of his name; not one usually heard around here, “A few times yes,” Officer Apatow nodded, “Quite a few!” he smiled brightly and looked to you and your friends, “and it’s been a pleasure each time!”

You gave a wry smile and pocketed your hands, the constant ticking of his body unnerving you to the point of frustration. You couldn’t hear a heart or a pulse, and it was so damn abnormal you wanted to click open his chest to find out what was going on.

Adam noted the awkward silence and quickly stood by the door, “Let’s step inside! Oh wait, firstly-“ by the door was a small metallic box, one you swore hadn’t been there before. Clicking the lid open he put his finger on a black screen with a silver dot in the middle, and hissed when he touched it, “this is our new security instalment,” he explained and removed his finger, showing the small prick and a drop of blood that formed from it, “we’ve had a lot of problems lately with our systems being hacked, so every door has this new security system. They can only be opened from the inside, and I’m afraid I have to ask you to prick your fingers so the cameras on the other side can register how many guests are entering the Prime Minister’s office.” He looked guiltily at you specifically, and taking it as a hint you stepped forward, “just on the dot?” you asked and as he nodded you put your finger on the small needle and winched as it jumped up to prick you and took a small amount of your blood.

Toriel awkwardly cleared her throat, “I’m afraid we have a problem, Adam.” He directed his attention towards her as she winced, “monsters don’t have blood, we can’t give any.”

“Oh! Not a problem! Just give a hair instead, there’s a small box to put it in here-“ he drew out a tiny slit from the metal box, and you couldn’t help but think that he ought to have told you that that was an option, so you wouldn’t have to suck on your sore finger by now.

Swiftly Toriel and Asgore pulled a piece of fur from their paws and put it into the box one after the other, and when Adam finally closed the lid, a small green lamp lit up. You heard the sound of a lock clicking open, and Adam opened the door.

The Prime Minister stood in front of his desk, shifting through some papers before he peeked up, smiling and instantly putting away his work to greet you. It was as if time had never passed and kindly he escorted the three of you to your chairs and Adam took place by the door to keep it guarded.

“Welcome back to the office!” The Prime Minister sat down, keeping his tone relaxed, “hope you had a great new years eve?”

“Very, the gym hall is perfect for large celebrations,” Toriel replied, smiling politely, and easily keeping a casual conversation.

You felt much like how Asgore looked right now, comfortable with the situation, but too awkward to speak as Toriel had such clear control over her voice.

It was only when the Prime Minister spread out various papers of plans; residential information, privacy agreements, NDA’s and countless of other papers you couldn’t describe, that Asgore perked up on his chair and leaned forward, taking a long look at the various amounts of information. To make it understandable, mostly for you, the prime minister took the liberty of explaining the papers. “They’re describing the various agreements we’ve had to undergo to satisfy the rest of the parliament. Most of them are restrictions on how many monsters we can move into the city per month, so far that number is ten as a maximum. We hope to have this number increase each month, as they will hopefully see that the monsters are no threat.”

Shuffling said papers over to Asgore, he then moved some aside to find a couple of agreements waiting to be signed, “these are mostly for you-“ he looked at you directly, a hint of guilt in his eyes, “-, these are security and insurance plans that will have to be signed in correlation with the press conferences, interviews, photo-shoots and other PR stunts that we need to come up with to make this work. You will be granted bodyguards to follow you around at all times and make sure you’re okay, as – believe me – once you become a spokesman of something as controversial as this, you will end up with a lot of angry people on your back. The bodyguards will not stand close to you or be in your private space, unless it becomes necessary, but follow you like a shadow. You won’t even notice that they’re there.”

As much as he wanted his words to be comforting, several stones just fell over your heart and weighed it down. With a heavy frown you nodded, murmuring an acceptance of some sort and he continued, handing you a pen to sign with when you were done reading “I’ll announce it publicly on TV, just for the town of Ebott on Friday, so it’s all happening very fast and I deeply apologize for that, but it was the only way. I’m afraid the parliament is trying to throw us off the case, but we won’t let that happen. I’ll have to have you present there, we’ll wait with introducing King Asgore and Miss Toriel later,” he nodded to your friends respectively, “it gives you a few days to prepare.”

“Do I have to say anything?” you looked up, a beating in your heart so loud it practically deafened your ears and he smiled, “no no, you only have to stand there and let me present you as the ambassador, but there will be no questions asked to you or answers required from you.”

You gave another firm nod, allowing a breath of air to escape you and Toriel put her hand on your shoulder, rubbing her thumb against your skin to offer some comfort. You continued reading through the papers, skipping most of it as it was all a bunch of fancy words that you hadn't the lights clue what meant, and signed when you were finally at the bottom of the 3rd page. 

Asgore took over the conversation from there, asking about the rest of the restrictions that came to living in the city, including curfews, activity areas, school- and job opportunities, several points that you hadn’t thought to even look into but seemed so obvious now that he pointed them out. Toriel suggested that there be held a ball or official event for humans and monsters to meet, perhaps only a selected few from each race, something that the Prime Minister would look into as that would have to be awfully restricted as well.

What you had hoped would’ve been a short meeting for just an hour, became one that lasted four. By the second hour, Adam came in to serve you some coffee and water and incredibly unnecessarily fancy tuna sandwiches to go along. By the end of the meeting you had managed to scribble down eight pages of notes with arguments and worthy topics of discussions and clever answers you could use if a journalist ever surprised you with a pop quiz on monsters, although you were sure you would never be fully prepared for that.

What was probably the worst part of the meeting was your inability to cancel out the constant ticking from Officer Apatow outside the door, and how it ever so slowly increased in speed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOOOH boy has this chapter been difficult... I made it longer than the others to apologize for my absence, but I fear that may have slowed down the pacing considerably, but that always happens whenever I get to chapters that need a lot of information packed into them, arrrgh! 
> 
> I’m so sorry about the late update! Life is a bit hectic right now as I’m focused on school-work and trying to cultivate my social life outside of the internet, and when I finally got a free weekend, I spend it with a stomach flu trying to not throw up :'I 
> 
> This chapter was, like many other chapters, such a pain to get through; again, lost of stuff I wanted to put into it and lots of information and emotions that I didn’t want to rush through nor drag out, and I hope I somewhat accomplished it and made it feel sort of “real”. Every chapter from here on out is an adventure for me! I know where I want to go, but getting there is a journey in itself. A long as heck one. Someone be my hands while I transfer the story into your head with brainwaves. 
> 
> a fun little ps: Janus Apatowe’s surname derives from Apate and Janus is a greek god, wink wonk 
> 
> My twitter https://twitter.com/Dustyfanfics (I urge you all to follow this to catch up on what’s going on in my life, if there is a long time between updates!) 
> 
> My tumblr https://thedustyleaves.tumbr.com 
> 
> Playlist (with 5 new songs!) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhJoE3K1a-9Lb_M1IJou8dOLL07gYgqp4


	20. Matilde

With two aspirins waiting to be downed and the smell of burned toast in the air, you didn’t exactly have the best morning. Tired, busted and with a thundering headache, you sat down by your computer and nibbled on your crusty toast, recalling yesterday’s event. It retrospect, it had gone extremely well; the plans were finalized and ready to be set in action, and in only a few days, monsters would finally be walking on the streets alongside humans.

The only downside to it was that the intense focus you had kept throughout the meeting had left you with a headache that still plagued you today.

You didn’t plan on doing anything for the entire day but spend it on simply relaxing and letting your parents and Sans know how it had gone down. The phone call with your dad was an hour long, consisting of lots of pleased ‘ah!’s and ‘oh!’s from his side of the conversation, and before you could call Sans, you saw there was a message from John waiting on your facebook; _‘Hey there! ;) Hope you’re ready for movies today! When should we meet?’_

“Oh fuck-“ you slammed a hand against your forehead with a loud groan. You had completely forgotten about John and your movie hangout- or date, as Sans had pointed out. You honestly didn’t feel like going and watching a movie with him, not the day after a meeting with the Prime Minister, and the day before you had to reveal to your best friend that monsters were real. Especially not when you had teeny tiny kinda big and complicated feelings for one of those monsters. With a guilty conscience you wrote to him; _‘Hey John, I’m so sorry but so much shit has popped up lately that I complexly forgot about our deal… :s I can’t make it anyway…Another time maybe?’_

No way you were going to write; by the way I’m very much into a skeleton. 

Rather than waiting for his reply, you called Sans right after and in only a few seconds he picked up the phone, “Hey-“ his voice was drowned out by Papyrus’s loud singing in the back, “…ITTING IN A TREE. K-I-S-S-I-N-G-” followed by the slam of a door and San’s frustrated grumbling. You couldn’t contain your laughter, nor the warm flush that warmed up your face, “was that Pap?”  
  
“Ain’t he lovely?” Sans replied stiffly, obviously embarrassed and you laughed again, “he saw the peck didn’t he?” you referred to the tiny goodbye kiss at the door.  
  
“Yes, and he hasn’t shut up about it ever since you left!” As much as Sans sounded annoyed, you could clearly hear that there was some sort of satisfaction in his voice. “Anyways, how did it go yesterday?”

“Good!” you let out a breath you didn’t know you held, “all the plans are settled, tomorrow I’ll tell Mati about monsters so she’s prepared for it in advance, and on friday, the Prime Minister will go on live TV to announce it.”

“Oh yeah, you’re bringing Pap for that right?”

“Yeah, I thought about asking you but since she poked you in the eye…”

“Yeah, no, probably a bad idea.” Sans laughed, “…are you nervous about Friday?”

You nodded, before realizing he couldn’t see your gesture and hummed instead, “mhmm, I’ve even been given a body guard, or several I’m not really sure- to keep an eye on me at all times, in case I might get an angry mob after me,” you huffed out a chuckle at the absurdity of the situation but Sans didn’t laugh; “It’s probably for the best. I don’t expect that being a friend of monsters is going to be very popular at the beginning…”

“Hopefully it will be.”

You conversation derailed after that and you told about how you had cancelled your plans with John and blamed Sans for making it awkward, to which he had replied, “I’m just telling the truth! It was obviously a date!” laughing heartily to himself, as he was all too satisfied that you had cancelled your plans. The conversation kept going, switching from the subject of dinner plans to how you were going to convince Matilde, to Toriel’s idea of a mixed human and monster ball, to dancing, partying and seeing everybody again and the prospect of dressing up in finery. It only stopped when Pap came bursting into Sans’ room and continued singing and Sans instinctively threw his phone after his tall brother and the call ended. Sans sent you a text a few minutes later, _‘I just… threw my phone at Pap… Anyways, we’re going out now to play basketball, so I guess it was good timing…’_ You could barely reply due to laughing too hard. The rest of the day was rather uneventful except for the few pictures that Sans sent you, mostly of him sitting by the edge of the gym hall where he cheered on Papyrus, and the many goals that his brother scored.  

And so, the following day came faster than you had anticipated. Papyrus arrived at your apartment bright and early in morning, far earlier than you had agreed upon, so he took it upon himself to make you a large breakfast while you still tried to wake up. It was wonderful though, as his positive attitude and everlasting smile was infectious and took off the worst chunk of your nerves. You ate pancakes with bacon together before you hopped into the shower and finished getting ready, having trouble picking out a suitable outfit. Papyrus continued to talk as you walked from one end of the apartment to the other, telling you about his victorious basketball game yesterday, despite that Doggo was missing from their team.

“Why was he missing?” you asked as you pulled on your blue sweater with a knitted pug on. 

“I’m not sure,” Papyrus admitted with a heavy frown, “he didn’t answer my calls, but Sans said he might just be sick.”

“Could be it. Whenever I get sick, I know I never answer the phone unless it’s my mother,” you chuckled, although you remembered Mettaton mentioning the difference between monsters and humans getting sick, and hoped that Doggo got the sniffles just like a pet dog.

Around mid-day, Matilde knocked on the door, and the movie you were currently watching with Papyrus was promptly paused as you rushed over to answer her knocking. Papyrus ran with a giggle into your bedroom, and his snickering could be heard faintly as Matilde entered with a bag of her sleepover gear over her shoulder and guitar in hand. In an attempt to act casual, you acted far too excited instead, your hug a little too tight and your voice a little too high. You kept your conversation on the subject of the games you were going to play and the drinks you would drink, and Matilde dumped her stuff on the couch as she usually did before settling down on it. To calm yourself you offered to make some coffee, although you weren’t sure if coffee would give you the right effect you needed right now.

Halfway through brewing you reminded yourself that Papyrus was in your bedroom and waiting for you to start talking, so you forced yourself to begin the subject you initially brought her here for, and handed Matilde her cup of coffee, “actually, I uh… wanted you to come here because I have to tell you something very important…” 

Needless to say, Matilde stopped drinking to stare at you with worry in her eyes, already fearing the worst. “What is it?” she asked, and put away her cup.

“It’s going to sound so fucking stupid, so please bear with me, but I have no idea how to even begin explaining this,” you somehow ended up chuckling, and Matilde frowned. “Take your time.”

You straightened yourself up on your chair, fixed your shirt, tugged a strand of hair behind your ear before fiddling with your thumbs and took in a deep breath, “Would you believe me, if I said I had seen something supernatural?”

Matilde visibly tilted her head in confusion, but she seemed relieved compared to what she had thought you would have said and nodded, “if you believe it, then I will believe that you found it real. 

You nodded, “what if I could prove it to you?”

There was a hint of a smile to your friends’ lips, “where is this going?”

Getting up from your chair you began to pace back and forth in front of her, “when I disappeared, I went... ugh.. I didn’t hit my head and get amnesia. I fell- somehow- into the mountain in the forest...“

“Into Mt. Ebott?” She interrupted with a yelp and you continued, “Yes- I fell, and I discovered, well-“ you ran a hand through your hair, “a society down there. A very uh, _different_ kind of society compared to ours. I guess you could call it a supernatural one, or a mythological one even.” 

Matilde’s eyes had grown bigger by each word, a mix of intrigue and worry for your safety on her features, “…okay?” she tried to coax you into talking, “so, uh, you lived there for two months then? What was this place?”

“It was a place full of, uhm,” you crossed your arms and covered your mouth with your hand, murmuring, “monsters…”

“Full of what?”

You didn’t want to say it again, as she already looked like she didn’t want to believe your words, so instead you made a gesture for her to wait as you went to knock on your bedroom door, “Papyrus, can you come out now?” your voice was shaking just as your body. The tall skeleton all but ripped the door open and stepped out,”is it my time to shine?” and smiled at you before looking at Matilde, who had shouted with surprise at his appearance.

Quickly you had to step back to let Papyrus out as he took large steps into the living room, and meanwhile Matilde had pulled her legs up on the couch and was talking loudly while clutching her shirt over her heart, “Holy. Shit. You scared the fuck out of me, how the hell did you make that!?”

Papyrus gave you a look and you stepped closer, “I didn’t make him.” 

“Did he then? That costume is insane, how did you get that see through effect, it looks real as fuck!”

The fact that she put so much faith in cosplay was a huge compliment but also incredibly wrong, so you shook your head, “he’s real. Really real.”

Matilde stared between you and Papyrus before scoffing, “Really, real?” and Papyrus opened his arms to demonstrate said realness, causing her to flinch, “I’d offer you a hug, but maybe that’s too soon?” he smiled and took a step closer to extend his arm to her, “you can hold my arm instead?”

She kept her look of scepticism, reaching out with an attitude that screamed please-be-a-prank, but the moment she touched Pap’s lower arm and her finger dipped through the space between the bones, she screamed a loud OH MY GOD, and hopped back on the couch, looking smaller than you had ever seen her. You tried to approach her, but she merely pushed herself further away, pointing between you and Papyrus, “I-it-h-h-he-is REAL!? H-how, I- what, what the hell, what is going on!?”   
Once more you went to her and successfully grabbed her hands, while Papyrus respectfully kept his distance, “It’s alright, I swear!” you began, feeling immensely guilty for surprising her like this, “his name is Papyrus, he’s a friend, he couldn’t hurt a fly even if he wanted to!” 

“it’s true!” Papyrus chimed in with a smile, but Matilde refused to look at him, except for a few curious peeks once in a while as she kept her grip on your hands like an iron clasp. She stayed silent, her breathing shallow and raspy before she concluded, “he’s a skeleton. A talking skeleton.”

You offered a small smile, “Actually, he’s a monster that looks like a skeleton.”

She sneered at you, “still. A skeleton.” in an attempt to make some sense of it and quickly you nodded, “alright, he’s a skeleton. But I swear, he won’t do anything. He was one of the first to really help me when I fell into the underground.”

“The what? Okay wait, take it from the beginning, this is all confusing as fuck!” She demanded and rightfully so, thus you sat down next to her. Papyrus was about to pull in a chair, but when Matilde pulled her legs closer, he decided against it and placed the chair where he had stood before. He had a face of guilt, and it was so clear how he wanted Matilde to like him, but still he remained respectful. It had been an entirely different situation when you had been in the underground, as you had already met several monsters before him and Sans, so he could sense that he was allowed to be loud and vibrant around you without scaring you off, but with Matilde, he kept himself as calm as he could. 

Like this, you offered back her cup so she had something to hold, and began to explain the story of how you had met your new friends, for the first time in many months. Her face changed gradually throughout the story, from terror to curiosity to pure awe and in the end, even a hint of jealousy – although, she commented, the battles she could do without. That you had managed to fight your way through a talking flower and countless of monsters, only to befriend all of them and even free them in the end, sounded absolutely insane to her, like a far out fairy tale or a very hero centered Hollywood film. You insisted though, that you wouldn’t have been able to do any of those things without your new friends helping you out, and that statement seemed to make her accept Papyrus faster. You explained how you had conversed with the Prime Minister and her eyes went absolutely wide, and how the monsters had settled up above ground, and now, on this very Friday, their existence would be announced, thus you wanted her to know first before the whole of Ebott would.

“So, besides you-“ she referred to Papyrus, “there’s one more skeleton, talking dogs, goats, fish people and lizards, but they’re not actually that, they just look like it? And they’re all in that small abandoned town at the edge of the city?”

“Exactly. I’m sorry for not telling you before, I really wanted to… I hope it’s not too overwhelming?”

“It’s very overwhelming,” she admitted with a huff, “but also a bit… exciting?” she smiled lightly, and in return, Papyrus straightened up with new found hope and her features softened.

“To celebrate this new beginning, I will go and make some food!” Pap stood up and clasped his hands together, “Would that be a good idea?” he quickly looked to you for approval and you wore a big grin on your lips; “That would be perfect. Thank you."

“Great! I hope you like spaghetti, that’s what I made for our common friend when we first met!” 

“Spaghetti sounds good,” Matilde nodded and watched as Papyrus left for the kitchen, and so she turned to you and whispered, hugging the blanket that was now covering her legs, “is this why you’ve been so busy lately?”

“Yeah, been visiting them a lot and seen how things were going and also other stuff, but uh, I think that’ll have to wait for another day. This is enough for one evening,” you smiled, not exactly sure how to start the whole topic of Gaster and your newfound magic, although Matilde looked intrigued; “should I be worried?”

“Hmm, excited perhaps?”

“I like it already,” she grinned, “do you have pictures of the others?”

Happy to oblige as that she was taking it all so well, although she still kept herself curled together, you showed her the photos from the parties, random visits, celebrations and sleepovers, and by each new monster, Matilde did her best to learn their name and the more she got used to it, the more enthusiastic she became, especially when she saw greater dog and exclaimed her awe for just how fluffy they looked. 

Dinner was pleasant and Papyrus’s volume returned back to normal, and so he gladly answered any questions that Matilde had with long elaborate stories, most leading into new questions and tales that you hadn’t even heard about, among those were stories about Papyrus and Sans as children and the mischiefs and pranks they pulled off together.

By the end of the evening, Papyrus and Matilde were sitting in the same couch and as you put on a movie, Pap had spotted her guitar and rather spontaneously, the next few hours were spent watching Matilde trying to teach Papyrus how to play the guitar. She was mostly thrilled about how his fingers didn’t hurt from playing it, as he had no skin to damage and could easily drum over the strings with no trouble. 

You quickly snapped a photo when they were too busy to notice, and sent it to Sans, _‘It went really well. Your brother is a natural at making friends!’_

He replied back, _‘Ikr? He’s pretty great like that. Prob a good choice that you brought him rather than me, ha. Is that the guitar he’s playing?’_

_‘She says she wants to meet all of you soon! And yup, Mati is teaching it to him, and he’s pretty hooked on it :)’_

_‘Sounds good. Argh. What a talented mofo P:’_

_‘I’d say you’re pretty talented yourself.’_

_‘At what?’_

_‘At being you.’_

_‘…That was unbelievably cheesy.’_

You chuckled to yourself but quickly shut your mouth as you had momentarily forgotten that you were sitting in the room with Sans’ brother and your best friend, both with a crush-radar that was incredibly sensitive. Thankfully they were still playing the guitar so you resumed your texting; _‘I thought I was doing grate.’_

_‘You’ve gouda brie kidding me.’_

_‘... I don’t know enough puns to continue, but that was nacho best.”_

_‘It was cheddar than yours.’_

_‘Welp. Touché.’_

“Hey, listen to this! I can play a melody!” Papyrus exclaimed happily, stealing away your attention from your phone and with an enthusiasm unable to compare, Papyrus played a simple melody; Smoke On The Water, his grin infectious enough to smitten a whole village. Matilde sat there looking like a proud mom, praising him to the sky and Pap took all of it, acknowledging just how great he actually was and continued to play the melody over and over. You wanted to join in on praising him, but as what had almost become a tradition, your phone suddenly rang and interrupted your moment. It was displaying Alphys’s name, so cheerfully you picked up your phone, “Hey Alphys!” only to be interrupted by her frantic voice.  
Her words were far too fast and mumbling for you to get more than a few of them, thus you raised your voice to silence hers, “Alphys, please, you need to slow down!”

“So-sorry! I forget I do that!” She stammered, “ You need to get here real quick! I just discovered something… something incredible about your soul!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've updated the first chapter of the fic, because every time I looked at it, I cringed at the first half of it, hah! ANYWAYS!  
> Finally an update! I decided to keep this one a bit lighter than the other chapters, as I really want to have some happy moments between all the heavy stuff :D 
> 
> My twitter https://twitter.com/Dustyfanfics (I urge you all to follow this to catch up on what’s going on if there is a long time between updates!) 
> 
> My fanfic tumblr where you can suggest one shots or other stuff I should write about, or submit art if you have any! I can't tell you how much I adore every single piece I receive, so I want to eternalize them on this blog! It's a pretty empty blog right now as I'm slowly putting up all the chapters there as well, so bear with me for a little while c: https://dustyfanfics.tumblr.com
> 
> Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhJoE3K1a-9Lb_M1IJou8dOLL07gYgqp4


	21. Do you remember?

“Undyne is tall, blue, muscular and fish-like, and her girlfriend is tiny, yellow and lizard-like and Sans is uh-“

“He looks like me!“  
  
“-a short skeleton, got it!” 

On the way to Alphys and Undyne’s house, Matilde and Papyrus were playing a memory game, to prepare Matilde for what she would eventually see. When you had told your two guests about the phonecall you were about to ask if whether or not she wanted to come with you or stay until you came back, but before you could even phrase the question, she had shouted; ‘I’m coming along!!’ She brought along her guitar and backpack as you mentioned it might turn into a sleepover since it was so late, which she had absolutely no qualms with.

You took the route through the forest and enjoyed the scenery as finally, the temperature was raising just enough to melt the snow down to a workable layer, one that you didn’t fall and trip in. The entire way there, you found that your hand was holding firmly around the pendant of your necklace, the one that Sans had given to you at Christmas.

Thinking about what Alphys had told you on the phone, that she had extraordinary news about your soul, you wondered whether or not you should tell Matilde about… well, all the other stuff, or simply let her be thrown into it and gradually get to know what was going on. Mostly because you didn’t have any clear answers yet yourself and were only just about to receive them.

As it was so late in the evening, when you finally arrived in the small town all the inhabitants were relaxing inside their homes but that didn’t stop Mati from turning her head one way and the other to try and peek through the windows.

It was only when you removed your hand from the pendant to knock on your friend’s door that Matilde pointed out “your necklace is glowing?” Swiftly looking down at yourself you murmured, “Sans is here then…” and knocked three times, knowing that this had to be pretty serious if he was called in as well.

The door was yanked open and Undyne wore a bright smile to greet you, but in less than a second, it had turned stiff as she laid her eyes on Matilde, “And who is this?” she asked kindly with a smile that screamed murder, unfortunately for Undyne, Matilde and her were very much alike. Matilde never stepped down from a challenge and quite clearly took this as a personal offence and straightened herself. Only now did you realize they were about the same height.

“Undyne, this is my friend Matilde, I’ve told her about monsters and brought her along today because she was at my place when Alphys called. Alphys should already know.” you explained courtly and Undyne huffed, “Another human, ay? Alphys forgot to mention that… well a friend of yours is a friend of mine, come on in then.”

Papyrus took the job of easing Undyne into getting to know Matilde better, and praised her guitar skills to the sky, which only lead Mati to stuffing her nose in the sky, standing proudly with her arms crossed over her chest and Undyne mimicked the gesture, not stepping down one inch. It would’ve been hilarious if it weren’t for the fact that they were both very fight-me types of people, and would actually fight if they had to.

“So uh, while you get to know each other, I’ll talk to Alphys, yeah?”  
  
“She’s in the basement.” Undyne replied, her eyes never leaving Matilde’s. Quickly you exchanged a look with Papyrus, pleading him to please take care of the situation and he gave you a large thumbs up, allowing you to leave for the basement with a heavy sigh. Please don’t kill each other, you murmured to yourself. 

Every step down the stairs echoed against the walls, and before you had hit the final step, Alphy’s quick and small steps could be heard pitter-patting across the tiles, until she stood in front of you, “oh good you’re here! Sorry for calling you at this hour, but this is amazing!”  
She was smiling, so the news couldn't be that bad “It’s alright- oh, okay!” She took your hand and led you to her desk with three monitors, one showing your soul, and a second displaying another soul you hadn’t seen before. Sans stood by the table, looking rather embarrassed, close to horrified even, and gave you a weak wave, “Hey there.” You imagined he already had a feeling of what was going to be told, while you were completely left in the dark.

“Hi,” you smiled, feeling like a kid in middle school, but thankfully Alphys was too busy with her computer to notice. 

“I’ll just get right to it! I already showed Sans a little bit of my research prior to what I’m about to reveal, but this is the amazing part! You see the gradient going over your soul?”  
  
You directed your attention to the screen and observed the soul print before you, frowning, “it’s larger than last time?” the before purple gradient into your bordeaux coloured soul, was now a clear and bright blue with only the smallest of a gradient at the very middle, between your original colour and the blue.  
  
“Yes, and it stopped spreading a few days ago, it seems to have reached it’s limit, and when it did, I could sample from both the top and the bottom part. Now this-“ she pointed to the second screen, “Is Sans’ soul, and how it looked when we were in the underground. Pure blue, very much alike the top colour of your soul right now. Now look at how Sans’ soul has changed over the past couple of weeks.” With a click she opened up a new window, showing his blue soul with the very same gradient as yours, only mirrored.  
She turned to face you, a large smile on her lips, “When I sampled the blue part of your soul, the computer recognized the pulses coming from it and matched it to Sans', and likewise, the dark red part of his, matches yours!”

A dawning realization fell over you like a hammer in the dark, but your eyes wouldn’t leave the screen. You could feel Sans’ eyes upon you, and you barely listened to half what Alphys said; “…I’ve never seen anything like this, it’s quite extraordinary!” you turned your head to Sans, meeting his eyes and he stared absolutely speechless up at you before promptly stuffing his hands into his pockets, “…You’re sharing magic in a way that is so powerful it surpasses even Asgore!...” Neither of you wanted to admit it. You knew that he knew that you knew what this very well might be, and he had already been so forward compared to you in many other situations, that you took it upon yourself to spit out, “it’s love, isn’t it?”

Sans' eyes that had been cast on the ground, quickly looked up at you and you smiled, his face turning bright blue in response, but the glee in his eyes were crystal clear.

Alphys had turned silent, her eyes shifting between the two of you and you continued, “It has to be, right? Our souls they’ve… connected in some way?” 

“Love…” Alphys repeated, first in awe and then with intrigue “…Love, huh?” A devious smile made it across her lips, but then it changed the moment a light bulb switched on in her head, “Love!” and she turned in her chair to type away on her keyboard, writing a full page of notes in a side window on her third screen, mumbling so fast you couldn’t make out a single word even if you wanted to. 

“But if that’s the case, why doesn’t the same thing happen with pure monster pairings or pure human pairings? Is it different because it’s between species?” Sans peeked over Alphys shoulder and the lizard nodded, “Definitely! At first I though that our magic was unique to monsters, but the more your souls exchanged ‘gifts’, a magic that was already in you-“ she pointed at you over her shoulder, “opened up, and the strength that was in your heart and your durability, was placed into Sans’ soul. You’ve also exchanged a bit of each other’s magic. Have you felt any changes at all?” Alphys suddenly turned to stare at Sans and the man stiffened, “…well-“

“I’ll take that as a yes,” she furrowed her brows at him and he put on a stiff grin, “I don’t use my magic enough to be able to tell. I thought nothing of it.” 

“But wouldn’t it go haywire like mine did if something new happened to it?” you asked but Alphys shook her head, “not if you’re already an expert at controlling it, it might have felt like a small headache to Sans, whereas to you it was a completely ground-breaking change.” 

That sort of made sense so you nodded as Alphys wrote down yet even more notes, “So… Love?” she said the word for the fourth time before turning to face you again, her mischievous grin back in place and Sans pressed his lips together, “Don’t.” 

“Oh I’m not doing anything!” Alphys giggled, “I’m only saying that it’s very adorable and satisfying, and about time!” As awkward as it was to hear that, you reacted with a laugh, “about time? Really?”

“Are you kidding me? You two have been ogling each other just as hard as I’ve been drooling over Undyne-“  
  
“Now that’s an exaggeration!” Sans pointed a finger and Alphys calmly waved him off, still giggling, “Whatever you say Sans!” 

He wasn’t going to win this one, that was for sure, and Alphys only stopped giggling when you cleared your throat, trying to hide the fact that your cheeks were burning, “I don’t mean to interrupt but I have a friend upstairs who is having a stare down with Undyne, and I’d rather not have them beat each other up before dinner.” Alphys jolted, “That’s true! You brought her here! Matilde right?” and immediately, she went for the stairs. You meant to follow, but Sans put a bony hand on your wrist to hold you back, giving you an awkward smile, “Maybe we need some time to sit down and just talk? Not now but, just whenever…”  
You nodded, biting you lip before replying, “Sounds like a good idea,” and slipped your wrist free of his grip to hold his hand instead, walking with him to the stairs.

In the living room, you saw something you wouldn’t have seen coming even in your wildest fantasies. Papyrus was playing three notes on the guitar as dramatically as possible, reminding you a lot of Miguel from The Road to El Dorado, Alphys was looking nervous and frantic as Matilde and Undyne were arm wrestling by the coffee table. So far, the score was 2-0 to Undyne, but Matilde only looked fired up by her loss, while Undyne was grinning widely from ear to ear.   
“I like this human!” She exclaimed back to you as you walked up to them, and Sans slipped his hand out of yours, “She’s got spirit!”

In the moment she was distracted, Matilde tried to force her arm down with a roar, but Undyne stopped her, “Not so easy, but I like your style!”

“God damn it!!” finally Mati lost her patience and leaned back into the couch with crossed arms, and Papyrus announced Undyne the winner with a new friendship in the making.

“Hey, wanna sleep here? Since it’s so late, you might as well stay!” Undyne grinned and Matilde’s sour face turned to one of elation, “Yeah!!” before looking to you, as your prediction had come true.  
It didn’t take long before you, Undyne and Matilde were cooking in the kitchen, and Alphys was putting up the necessary blankets and duvets on the couches in the living room, and pulling out two extra mattresses for Sans and Papyrus. As you had slept here so many times, Pap felt that it was his turn to stay as well, and no one wanted to deny him that.

Mati spent most of her time in the kitchen asking Undyne about what she used to do in the underground, and hearing that she used to be a royal guard, flicked on a switch in her brain as she then understood why she was so strong. Her questions only continued to pour out when you sat down for dinner, and she continued her interrogation this time of Alphys’ on what she could and used to do, and just what you were doing in the basement moments before. When Alphys tried to explain her about souls, Matilde squinted and shook her head before concluding that she was too tired to get any of that business right now. Sans evaded her questions about jobs and interests with puns and jokes, a common trait of his you only noticed now. When you had first met him, he had done the same, although back then you hadn’t seen it as evasion or a defence mechanism, but just as his sense of humour, whereas now it was clear he didn’t want to actually answer those questions.  
Matilde didn’t seem to mind though, and merely laughed at his jokes, encouraging him to keep going.

It was 2 am when you were finally in bed, you and Mati on the couches and Sans on a mattress below your couch and Pap next to his.

Pap was still trying to play on the guitar even when he was lying down, right until the moment his eyes closed and he was snoring soundly, and Sans gently took the instrument from him to put it at his side.  
  
“What a day. What a beautiful day.” Matilde murmured in the dark, causing you to chuckle, “it hasn’t been too weird?”  
  
“I’m still expecting to wake up and find that it’s all been a dream, if that’s what you’re referring to.” 

Sans laughed, “you’ve taken it pretty well.”

“At least I haven’t poked anyone’s eye socket again. Sorry about that by the way,” Mati winched and looked towards Sans, who was barely lit up by the moonlight, and he merely shook his head, “Don’t worry about it.”

She shifted her weight on the couch and looked directly towards him, “how is up here, compared to down there?”  
  
“Less snowy” you commented, causing Sans to snort his reply; “and brighter. You have actual stars up here.”

“Hey remember when we first met?” you suddenly spoke, peaking Sans’ interest and he hummed, “mhmm, you threatened to throw a rock at me.”

“What!?” Mati burst out, obviously wanting to hear the rest of that story and you smiled, shifting a bit to sit up on the couch.

“I was scared as fuck, I had only just left Toriel’s place and I come out to see this long ass road with trees on each side of it. Something about walking down an ominous road just didn’t’ strike me as the perfect Sunday stroll, so instead I walked through the forest and met a couple of monsters who all tried to fight me, so when I met Sans – I expected the same of him. Except, he was sleeping.” 

“Hey, it had been a very long day” he intercepted your story with a chuckle, and you continued, Mati laughing already.

“Anyways, I threw a snowball at him to wake him up, and then I tried… with a rock… to threaten him into taking me somewhere I could get help getting out of there.”

“It was a very dangerous rock,” Sans snorted, and Matilde burst. You gave the side of his head a friendly pat, laughing “every other monster had attacked me with magic, and I only had a stick and a rock with me, cut me some slack!” 

Sitting up, Sans continued, “You surprised me, that’s for sure. I hadn’t expected to be woken up by a human. Well,” he turned his attention to Matilde, “I promised to help, but then my brother came and dragged us through his puzzles.”  
  
“I wouldn’t say dragged, more like, _insisted_  for me to go through them.”

“That’s a nice way to put it.” He chuckled.

“I liked it though, and it helped to calm me down, especially because Sans kept an eye on me through all the puzzles.”

Smiling, Matilde asked, “What kind of puzzles?” and you swore Papyrus stirred and was trying to make himself speak in his sleep about his famous work, but Sans spoke before that could happen, “All kinds of puzzles. Mostly physical where you have to push buttons in certain orders to make them all go off at the same time.”

“Yeah, it’s probably a good thing you dumped into the mountain and not me, I would’ve sucked at that so bad and been stuck in there forever,” Mati concluded, causing you to snort.

Sans looked your way “I’ve been meaning to ask; How did you even end up in the underground anyway?”

“Oh well… uh” you frowned, leaning against the armrest and turned quiet for a while before murmuring, “I don’t know. I literally don’t remember that part.”

“Maybe you hurt yourself when you got in? Like hit your head or something?” Matilde offered, not thinking much of it and brought out her phone to check her messages, but Sans was frowning, “that’s a little weird though.” 

You shrugged, “I remember being at the foot of the mountain and then waking up in a pit, so I’m pretty sure I fell, at least I remember the sensation of falling. Could’ve easily hit my head.”

“it’s 3 am now, so I’m going to try and sleep,” Mati yawned, “See ya’ tomorrow, if this was not all a dream.”

You smiled, “Gnight Mati” and properly laid down to bring out your phone and check it for any news. John had answered your message from earlier today many hours ago. Well, Shit. That would have to wait until tomorrow. Sans followed suit, and in the dark you felt his hand fumbling for yours, “Sleep well” he murmured and you held his bony fingers back. Mumbling the same well wishes before closing your eyes, your mind was still wrecking itself over his question. How did you even end up there? 

It had been so long since you had last been there, almost half a year ago if not more, maybe less? You couldn’t remember right now, but man it had been a long time since you entered the underground. Maybe you blocked it out of sheer shock or trauma from ending up in such an unknown place. You still remembered the last few seconds of falling and hitting the ground and the crack of your bones in your left arm, something that Toriel had fixed up within minutes of finding you. It still gave you goose bumps to think of that pain, and as the memory of it flooded over you, so did the darkness of your dream world.

“Welcome back”

You stepped forward to approach Gaster with a heavy frown, “I’m not sure I should thank you.”

“Is that so?” the masked man tilted his head.

“Why am I here?”

“I recall having told you this before. I only appear when you ask for me. You must have some questions or a need to see me.” He replied calm and stoic; his figure bent and fragile before you. 

“I know I’m supposed to slap you for that mark you burned into my hip,” even if you were supposed to be angry, you still spoke with such a clarity and absentness, that Gaster laughed, a strange rough laughter that sounded like his lungs weren’t meant to give out that sound.

“I suppose I should’ve given you a warning,” he admitted, “but you had to remember, and so did Sans. But you already know that, don’t you? So now, what did you come here for?”

“You’re awfully impatient today.” You stepped towards him and he followed your lead, walking next to you through the everlasting darkness, although he did not reply, thus you continued, “This place is without time, right?” he nodded so you went on, “I want to remember something I have forgotten, can you help me remember it?”

He walked to the far end of the void with you, his stature raising to it’s full figure so he towered above you, tilting his head just the slightest, “it is not forgotten, it was taken from you the moment it passed. But yes, I can retrieve it for you. Simply, wake up.”

With a jolt, your body flinched through every nerve, desperately trying to catch itself from the sensation of falling from his world and into the real one. With eyes wide open, you shifted them from one side to the other, trying to conclude just where you were. Still in your friends house, safe and sound, and next to you, Sans. Without a second thought you tightened the grip on his hand, realizing then how clammy and sweaty you were, before he opened his drowsy eyes and looked up at you, “A kid pushed me!” you whispered, your voice hoarse, and he groaned, “hn?”

“Sans. A kid pushed me into the underground. They pushed me in.” your voice was shaking with beads of sweat falling from your forehead unto his, and slowly he realized just what you were saying, his expression turning to one of horror.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bottom note:  
> IT’S OVER 10.000 HITS. WHAT. 500 KUDOS. W H A T.  
> I don’t even know how to react or what to say, I’m just. WHAT.  
> Thank you all so much !! ;_; 
> 
> links: 
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> 
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> Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhJoE3K1a-9Lb_M1IJou8dOLL07gYgqp4


	22. What a ball

Matilde went home the following day and left her guitar behind for Papyrus to borrow it. Currently he wasn’t in need of it as he was busy dribbling across the gym-floor with a basketball, the thuds echoing against the walls accompanied by his loud shouts. Greater dog, Lesser dog, Dogamy and Dogaressa had joined for the game, but Doggo had, yet again, not turned up, thus Papyrus’s team was one man short.

“You sure you want to talk about it here?” You asked Sans for the fifth time and he gave a court nod. You were sitting in the spectator seats lined against the edges of the hall, cheering on Pap whenever he put emphasis on a goal while keeping a heavy focus on Sans. You couldn’t help but find it an awfully public place taking into account how nervous Sans seemed – just as he had when he told you about Gaster for the first time.

“They won’t hear it, and it makes it less scary to talk about,” he admitted with a wry-full smile before sighing, “remember back when I said that I had more to tell you? That there was more to my story?”

You nodded and let your eyes dart down to his hands, seeing as they had started to shake and carefully took his right hand in yours.

Grateful he squished it back and continued, “How do I start this…” he rubbed the space between his eyes and groaned, “well, I told you how that uh, because of everything that happened in the labs with Gaster and all... a “phenomenon” began to find place. All of the underground was affected and perhaps a small area outside of the mountains.” 

Dogamy missed a goal as Pap knocked the ball out of his hand and rushed it down the long squeaky floor.

“Every monster, except for me, was affected by it. Because I tried to pull Gaster out of the machine and suffered the injury to my left side, I was, more or less, immune. I knew what had happened, but couldn’t do anything about it.”

“I remember part of that yeah,” you quietly responded and nodded, letting Sans know it was okay to go on.

He swallowed, “good, good… at first I thought it was just monsters who had been affected by it. No one remembered Gaster, to them, the explosion in the lab was unexplained and Alphys forgot she even had an uncle. But then, something strange happened. A kid fell into the underground, much like you did.”

Pap was inches away from scoring a goal, but Greater dog tackled him to the ground and tried to bite a bone off his leg to play with.

“They were named Frisk. Frisk was… to begin with, kind and curios and willing to fight to get out of there and take us all with them, and at first they did. But one day it all just reverted back to normal. I had been to the surface and suddenly I woke up in my room again without knowing what had happened.”

As much as that was confusing and difficult to understand, you didn’t want to interrupt just yet and Sans kept going, barely looking at you anymore.

“I thought it had been a dream because no one could recall having seen the surface or talking to a human kid, no one but me. But Frisk fell into the underground again, but they acted different this time. Less kind, slightly more vary of us all and hurt several monsters, and as they got close to the end of the underground – I woke up in my bed again.” 

You frowned, “you… were stuck in a loop?”

Dogamy scored a goal, causing Pap to howl with frustration, but the tall skeleton wasn’t defeated yet and swiftly gained back the ball. 

“Yes, exactly. I have a theory on how Frisk was affected, but nothing confirmed… What I didn’t know back then, is that the more they entered the underground, the more they realized that they had an extraordinary power to control _our_ time. I found out too late that it was because of Flowey and Chara.”

“Because of them?!” you burst out, getting more confused by the minute. 

“It took a long time to figure out, “ he babbled on, “a lot of sneaking about and gathering vague information here and there, mostly from Asgore and Toriel. Frisk was affected because they had landed on a particular bunk of flowers at the exact time the explosion found place…”

You shortly recalled having fallen unto a small gathering of flowers yourself, which you assumed back then was the only reason your landing had been softened enough to leave you with just a broken bone and not your death.

“… The bunk of flowers, was Chara’s grave, and that grave, was connected to Flowey, and Flowey was connected to all the experiments in the labs. I don’t know every specific detail; most of the information about those experiments was also lost to me… I’m not even sure how it all worked out the way it did, but it did.”

“holy shit,” you whispered, “…are you sure that kid is the same kid that pushed me..?”

“If they wore a purple and blue striped shirt, then definitely,” you nodded and he gave a weak grin, “I think the moment you fell in, because you were not part of this loop we had created, you were able to break it, permanently. I’ve been scared ever since we got up here that I would wake up in my bed in Snowdin again… but you’ve truly broken the loop.” He smiled, looking less tense now, although his hands never stopped shaking.

You weren’t sure if that was comforting or not. Being put on a pedestal as a hero or saviour was something you had dreamt of as a kid when you played pretend; imagening that you saved burning villages from dragons and earned the kingdom in return. But now it seemed more like a curse than a blessing. The more you were looked up to, the less worthy of that responsibility you felt and the more you feared to fail.

 

The following days were chaotic at best. While preparing for the inevitable big reveal, Papyrus called two times to tell you that Sans was ‘unreachable’ and couldn’t breathe. Both times you dropped everything you were doing to take the bus and rush over there, talking to Sans on the phone the entire trip until you reached their house, and both times Sans apologized endlessly for his panic attacks, no matter how many times you told him it was okay. The first time you cleaned his room again, and the second time you stayed for the night on the couch. 

Doggo was still not responding to any messages or calls, and the initial thought that he was sick was easily replaced with more worrying thoughts that something terrible must’ve happened, but what that could be you didn’t know. Pap took it upon himself to investigate his home, but every time he got close, Officer Apatow always seemed to be there to distract him, and in the end Pap filed the concern with him and Apatow merely chuckled, “Sir Doggo is absolutely fine, we’ve talked to him in private about being one of the first monsters to move into the city. He’s just been busy finishing up the paperwork and moving his things!”

Pap tried one more time after that, only for the officer to insist that he stayed away from Doggo’s home, or he’d have to take him in custody for breaking and entry.

As much as you wanted to help and take it upon yourself to figure out if what Apatow said was true, it was the day of the announcement and you could no longer push aside your responsibilities as an ambassador.

You were picked up in a large black BMW with tinted windows and a bodyguard on each side of you. The drive to the prime minister’s speech could’ve been exciting if it wasn’t for the fact that the broad shouldered men assigned to protect you, were as intimidating towards you as they were supposed to be towards any potential assailants. The speech was held publicly on a large podium in the old square of the town, and as you walked the stairs up to sit on the chair next to the prime minister while you were being presented by Adam, you spotted Matilde in the crowd at the very front row, waving and smiling at you.

The speech went as you had expected it. You stood next to him as he spoke, him gesturing several times to you as he told the story of how you had ended up in the underground and about the monsters you had brought up with you, and when it came to reminding everybody to be mindful and respectful of these new citizens and that they would gradually move into the city, most looked at him as if he had gone mad. He announced the ball that would find place by the end of next week where private invitations would be sent out to at least 200 people of the town to met with the monsters and know that he spoke the truth.  
Neither him nor you had expected anyone to believe you straight away, thus when most responses from the press and public were “the prime minister has lost his grip” and “he’s been swayed by a young lunatic that hit their head on a mountain rock,” it didn’t exactly surprise you.

Your friends bombarded every message system available and you didn’t answer any of them. You made one public status on your facebook, tumblr and twitter about the situation, confirming everything that had been said, and after that you turned off the internet and went to your parents place – or rather the bodyguards drove you there – and sought comfort with your parents as you could feel the whole world turn against you.

As someone who relied on friends and family and constant acceptance of who you were, this was the exact opposite of what you needed.

Sans tried to get a hold of you several times after the speech, and when you didn’t reply to him, Pap and Undyne took over, even Mettaton tried to contact you but you didn’t reply to any of them, not yet. Your mom tried to distract you by talking about the ball and what you should wear, and your dad about how a huge step you had already taken to better the world and how you should be proud.  
As much as you knew he was right and that it had been a necessary step, you couldn’t drown the burning anxiety in your throat. Would people ever deem you anything but a crazed lunatic? Even if they did see the monsters and finally believed, would you then be hunted for being a supporter of something non-human? You would support your friends to the end of the world, but you also wanted a life where you could blend in and be a nobody again, get an education and sit at the back of the class with a good friend and not draw any attention to yourself.

You tried once to go outside to go shopping for a new game to distract yourself with, but you only got as far as a few blocks before you had to turn back. There were simply too many stares and once the first person had shouted, “hey? Aren’t you the one who fell into Mt. Ebott?” the questions kept flowing from every other person on the street. You didn’t step outside of your door for the rest of the week, but you made sure to finally write to your friends. Matilde was understanding as always and stood up for you whenever she could, resulting in a lot of nasty names being thrown at her as no one believed in the Prime Minister yet, but she didn’t care. She was a bigger support than you could ever have wished for, and therefore asked her if she wanted to join you for the ball to which she replied, “do you even have to ask?”

And so it went. The ball found place in the house of the Prime Minister, a place you had visited so many times you thought you would be used to be by now, but the festivities had allowed for the entire place to be re-arranged with flower decorations, falling bordeaux colored curtains, chandeliers and candlelight. 

It was the first time you really got to see your friends again without feeling like someone was going to antagonize you for being with them. The people who had been invited to the party all scowled and gave you gloomy looks, but they behaved none the less as they were upper class, famous actors, ministers and organizational leaders who all knew just what house they were standing in and how to keep their faces calm and cold. Their eyes were piercing none the less. When your mother had helped you find the perfect outfit, you were afraid it had been too flashing, but when you finally stood between all the fancy ball gowns and suits, you realized that you were in fact quite underdressed.

Matilde followed you in, hand in hand, and finding Toriel and Asgore first, they showed you over to where the rest of your friends were. They were all standing in a tight group in the corner of the room while the rest of the party sent spiteful glances towards them, whispering and pointing. They avoided the monsters just as much as the monsters avoided the humans, being equally afraid and wary of each other. You hadn’t been allowed to invite a whole lot of your monster friends, as the Prime Minister adviced for the number of monsters to be smaller than humans, thus it was Sans, Papyrus, Mettaton, Undyne and Alphys who had joined and all looked equally uncomfortable. Toriel and Asgore were quick to leave and split up, both experts at talking to the heads of the human society and presenting themselves from their best side. 

“How are you doing?” you asked the group and Mettaton scoffed. He was wearing his more human like robot suit rather than the calculator look, and Alphys had spiced it up for the party, “I know we’re supposed to be civil, but it’s hard to focus on friendly conversation when half of the people are poorly dressed and the other half can’t even scowl properly. Not to mention that those curtains are dreadful.”

One thing you admired about Mettaton was how he could turn an uncomfortable situation into a joke which Sans gladly snickered at; “you’re worried about the curtains?”

“Among other things,” Mettaton smiled before frowning at Sans’ outfit, “like the mis-matching socks you’re wearing in your newly polished shoes.”

“At least I’m wearing socks.”  
  
“I suppose that’s true. Now who is this?” Mettaton turned to Matilde and you gladly introduced your friend. As you were talking, you noticed the sounds of cameras rapidly clicking and briefly turning your head around you saw several paparazzi’s along the walls, documenting the party and especially the little monster corner. Mettaton began asking Matilde all sorts of questions about her interests and hobbies, thus you faced the party fully and smiled as you saw Adam and Evelyn approaching you with bright smiles to welcome you to the party. “You should try and mingle!” Adam suggested after a while and Papyrus could barely contain himself if it hadn’t been for Mettaton’s hand on his shoulder, “Excellent idea. Anyone easy to start of with that you can recommend?” and Adam gladly pointed out an elderly couple standing near the buffet, and off Mettaton went with Papyrus in hand. He was probably the only one who was an expert at mingling besides Toriel and Asgore. 

“He’s a natural talent…” you sighed and ran a hand through your hair. Adam offered a chuckle, “it’s not easy to talk to strangers, especially when they’re all staring like they are.” That was something you've always liked about Adam; he always understood. “Just be yourself, dance and have fun, the band should start playing right after the Prime Minister has spoken and uh, try to ignore the paparazzi’s. They’re only here to document what is happening, so as long as you don’t rip off your clothes and dance on the tables, you should be good.” 

“What, I can’t rip my clothes off?” you joked, feeling slightly more at ease as Adam and his wife laughed. 

The chatting and clattering of cutlery and clinking of glasses seized as the Prime Minister stepped into the middle of the room. A respective circle formed around him, and it looked almost painteresque how the chandelier was right above him, and all eyes were upon him. “Welcome and thank you for joining on this most important evening, an evening where we take the first step towards a united world between monsters and men.” As grand as his words were, cliché even, he looked worn and tired. His voice didn’t ring as loud as it usually did, his confidence seemed to have faltered but not due to the crowd. He seemed frustrated and unfocused. When you listened hard enough, you could hear his heart beating like someone who had just run a marathon.

You didn’t pay much attention to the speech, rather to the tone of his words, and Sans must’ve noticed the frown between your brows as he took your hand to squeeze it. 

The moment the Prime Minister finished and wished everybody a good night, he stayed to talk with the guests only for a few minutes before disappearing into the crowd and all of a sudden he was gone. Adam had left you to take his wife over to the buffet, and so it was you, Matilde, Undyne, Alphys and Sans who was left. “Did you notice something?” Sans asked straight away, well aware of your powers and you nodded, “he seemed… unfocused… angry even.” 

“He’s probably just pissed at the amount of people staring us down,” Undyne scoffed, “C’mon Alphys, let’s eat all of their food!” Undyne took the hand of Alphys and lead her through the crowd to the buffet table, while Matilde put her hand on your shoulder, “let the PM be angry and stop worrying about it for a moment. We can still enjoy ourselves.”

She was right, you did worry a lot lately. The tiniest things ticked you off and made you wary of your surroudings, but you couldn’t help it. Still you allowed Matilde to push you and Sans into the crowd of dancing couples. Although the music was anything but what you were used to as it was live classical pieces, you still managed to enjoy yourself by accepting that you could never learn how to waltz or properly dance, and that you would forever step on your friends toes if they tried to spin you around.

It didn’t take long for Sans’ bony hands to find way to your waist and hand, and yours to his shoulder, and for once you didn’t mind that people stared. They could look all they wanted, as all that you showed were a perfect example of how little difference there was between humans and monsters. The constant clicking of cameras were, albeit, distracting. It was a shame that you were one short for Matilde to have someone to dance with, but she didn’t seem to mind as she sneaked away to the buffet to talk with Undyne and point wildly at you and Sans. Shortly you wondered about the Prime Minister again. Just where had he gone to and why had he looked so tired and sounded so different? 

“You always tell me to focus on just one thing at the time,” Sans stole your attention and you realized how your eyes and mind had been on everywhere but the dancefloor. You were about to apologize before he spoke, “so focus on us, just for now.”

You swore your legs melted away on the spot, and it was a wonder that you managed to smile and continue dancing, slow and unsteady steps but in no way nerve-wracking. You could feel how Sans got closer and his hand moved from the side of your waist to your back and ever so slightly you leaned down to his height, your forehead touching his. It was slightly uncomfortable for your spine, but you didn’t pay that any mind right now – nor the lewd whistle from Matilde as she passed by with Papyrus to join the dance-floor as well.

You shortly wondered how Mettaton felt about those two dancing until every other thing in the room was made insignificant as something abnormal rang in your ear. Clockwork, mechanical wires and a dog howl caused you to scrunch your face into a worrisome expression, enough for Sans to see the alarm as clear as daylight on your face. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been gone for so long I almost feel like I've lost touch of writing the story 6__9 I hope it's still enjoyable!  
> If people are still reading this, I am forever thankfull and it’s more than I deserve <3
> 
> I’ve been wondering if I should write a short-story about the readers trip to the underground. Just a collection of small snippets of the journey merged together into a more kid-like-story, less detailed than this one and more fairy tale like in the way it would be written (at least that would be the dream). 
> 
> We’re nearing the end btw! I’m guessing…5-10 chapters left? (that’ll probably be 20 chapters then if I’m lucky HAH)
> 
> links: 
> 
> My fanfic tumblr for submissions and more! It’s meant to be fun and engaging for my readers, and to keep an ongoing conversation with you all! It’s also where I update how far I am with Above Ground https://dustyfanfics.tumblr.com 
> 
> Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhJoE3K1a-9Lb_M1IJou8dOLL07gYgqp4


	23. Zehrah

”You want to check it out, don’t you?” Sans asked, seeing how your eyes were already darting towards the sound, ”don’t. There’s too many people around.” He hissed, keeping the hand on your back pressed hard against you to keep you still.

”I heard a dog howl, Sans, ”you argued, keeping your voice low. 

”It could be any dog.”

”And what if it isn’t?”

”Not. Here.” 

You easily grew agitated with his constant negativity and pulled away, but just as you did, he grabbed your wrist and pulled you towards the bathrooms. For the evening, the gendered signs had been removed seeing as they only depicted human shapes, so when Sans pulled you into a random side of the bathrooms, you were met with a TV-host with his tongue down an actresses mouth. Both quickly left the moment they saw you.

With a click, Sans locked the door and faced you, ”Please. Please don’t snoop around here.”

”Why not?!” You burst out and immediately regretted having done so and stiffened your lips. ”Why not?” you repeated more softly, ”in the underground I was thrown head first into danger all the time! I battled freaking Undyne!”

“This is different and you know it! We’re not in a world of monsters where battling for freedom with something as ludicrous as the power of your soul is normal! If you make one wrong move I- I don’t know what could happen to you!”

“Nothing will happen! Bad press will probably happen, maybe jail, but heck, I thought I heard Doggo I just- I can’t just leave that and go oh welp, better eat another fancy piece of tuna and leave Doggo to his doom!”

“I didn’t say that,” Sans hissed and ran a hand over his skull, “I don’t, fuck…” taking in a deep breathe he bit his lip before responding, “I don’t know shit about this world. I’ve never tasted freedom so close as we have tonight. I haven’t… I haven’t cared for someone new in ages, and it was different in the underground okay?” He spoke faster as he mumbled on, “back there I knew the physics, I knew the outcomes, I knew Undyne’s attacks and Mettaton’s intentions, but here? Heck, I don’t know if that ticking officer is a bomb or a misunderstood robot. I’m… I’m scared, okay? I’m scared _for you_.”

You frowned. Your increasing heartbeat slowly seized itself and you cast your eyes down, not knowing exactly how to respond.

“Don’t answer that,” Sans huffed a half-assed chuckle, scratching his skull once more, “heck, what am I doing trying to stop you?”

“No, I get it…” you replied, “I didn’t, well, think that far.” Letting out a sigh Sans seemed slightly more relieved and you continued, hands down your sides, “I just have to do this… Lately I don’t feel like I have any control over anything, and I hate not being in control of my life, and now when I finally have a power or gift that I can use for something – perhaps even figure out where a friend has gone… I really want to do that.”

Sans nodded, “I get that… I get it” he murmured, and finally released his hands from the endless scratching of his head. “Fine. But I’ll help you out. You go check it out, and I’ll make sure no one sees you, okay? I’ll be your lookout.”

A soft smile appeared on your lips and you leaned down to embrace him, seeing a glimmer of the necklace you gave him for Christmas, “thank you.”

“Don’t thank me just yet,” he huffed and returned it reluctantly, “just make sure you don’t do anything… irrational.”

“Right, something more irrational than this?”

“Exactly.” Sans couldn’t hold back a soft chuckle before he unlocked the door and lead you both outside again. Thankfully no one noticed you going in nor out, neither did anyone really pay any attention to you anymore. It seemed that Toriel and Asgore were successfully blending in with the crowd and Toriel was currently entertaining a group of business ladies, while Asgore was talking to an elderly man and his teenage grand-son, all three who seemed very caught up in their conversation.

Ripping your thoughts away from the party, you took Sans’ hand and started listening. You knew what direction the sound had come from and thankfully the party expanded to the entire house, so it didn’t look strange for the two of you to wander about. Casually you gave friendly hellos and answered short questions from the people you passed, while Sans kept a grin on his face and held your hand tighter. Away from the large ballroom and along the hallways of the mansion, the ticking and howling intensified until it simply stopped. You knew Sans couldn’t hear it, nor anyone else, so it had to come from a muffled or a far away place, but it had been crystal clear to your ears.

“Down there, along that hallway. The sound just broke off, but I’m sure it’s from one of those doors along the side.” You pointed at one of the many lonely corridors where the lights had been turned off, indicating that they weren’t for guests.

“Alright. You go down there, I’ll stand by the end of the hallway and if anything happens out here, I’ll let you know.”

“How?” you quickly asked and he pointed to your necklace, “It’ll glow and go warm, now go.”

With a firm nod you walked ahead, not looking back even once to appear as least suspicious as possible, and you felt how the nice warmth and bright colours from the party, vanished and turned into the cold grey of the corridor. Sans leaned against the wall, watching you fade away at the corner of his eyes, smiling and looking as casual as ever as if nothing in the world could bother him, although it was quite the opposite.

This was wrong, this was so very wrong, you thought to yourself. Your heart was already hammering in your chest. What if someone saw you here? You kept trying to remind yourself that you had been through worse things in the Underground, but Sans was right. It was different up here. There were consequences unseen. Still, this wasn’t just for you, this was for Doggo. You were sure it had been him you had heard, and if you didn’t do this, you’d regret not taking a leap of faith for the rest of your days. You tried to open every door, some were locked, others only contained offices, none of which seemed of any particularly interest to you, nor had any strange noises emitting from them. Still you could hear constant bubbling and tinkling of water and masses, metal working against metal and you tried harder to locate the noises until a squeaky floorboard interrupted you.  
Caught by a spontaneous idea, you kneeled down and removed the carpet from the floor and found a trapdoor hidden beneath it. Your heart leaped again. This was so wrong. So, so wrong. But you had already looked over your shoulder and opened it up before you could stop yourself. A steady ladder hanged from the edge of it, leading into a dimly lit room, and gently you closed the hatch above you before going all the way down. You could barely concentrate from the blood rushing through your ears. 

You were in but a small square empty  room with a single door, leading into a much larger facility that struck every possible alarm in your system.

 

It was a straight up replica of Alphys’ lab.

 

As softly as you could, you closed the door behind you, feeling your breath hitch in your throat. With far too quick and unsteady steps on legs that wobbled dangerously underneath you, you ventured further into the room. Every monitor, every cauldron, and every tool – you recognized all of them. Alphys’ were more torn and used, but they were hers. It was only at the far end of the room that it changed, and large massive upright caskets made of glass, were spread across the wall. A table in front of them held up a journal and two books, one titled;

_‘Professor Zehrah.  
_ _Notes on the physiological and neurological effects of the anima in conjunction with the Homosapien.’_

And two other titled; ‘ _World History I’_ and world _‘World History IV’_.

With what seemed like the worlds most slippery and sweaty fingers, you grabbed your phone and took a photo of the titles and of the room around you. You almost didn’t dare to look into the notes, but your curiosity got the best of you. It was all, quite frankly, too scribbly and academic for you to understand it, thus you snapped pictures of the first two pages before closing the book and looking at World History I. You knew you didn’t have time to read everything and therefore flipped through the pages instead, taking pictures of what seemed interesting, “Platon and the idea of Love… Eros and Diotima… Zeus split ‘em apart…” flipping on you came to an illustration you recognized from a familiar book series and read aloud, “… _Few monsters hid and remained on earth after the **banishment** and some came to converse with selected few men. Some monsters, including tree-resembling creatures, spoke to influential authors like J. R. R. Tolkien, to be forever remembered_ …” you stopped reading, a frown forming on your face, “…Tolkien spoke to monsters… but he was not even near Mt. Ebott?”

You turned another page and yet another, snapping photos of various parts and hoping your pictures wouldn’t turn out too blurry, until your heart was simply beating too fast for you to concentrate and you had to close the book. You had forgotten to keep time of your stay in the lab, and had a feeling that it was soon time to get the hell out of there, but still… the caskets before you drew you near. There was no indicator of what they were used for on any of them, there were about twelve in front of you and at the very end of the line, you could see a hallway extending behind them.

Following a far too irrational instinct to your own liking, you stepped forward only to hear the howling of Doggo once more; his howl muffled and sounding like he was under water. It was that howl that pushed you to finally peek over the edge of the last casket and see that along the hallway the caskets stood in row upon row of twelve, as far as your eye could reach.

The pendant around your neck began to burn and glow brighter than it ever had before, and a familiar ticking began to play at the far end of the hallway. Instinctively you grabbed the pendant to seize its glow, but two bright eyes on a dark silhouette were already facing you, glowing distantly ahead of you. For what felt like a millennium, you stared at each other, until the figure took one a step ahead and you turned on the spot, running as fast as you could for the way out. You didn’t know if the figure was following you, and you weren’t going to turn around to check if it was. You all but ripped the door open and rushed up the ladder, slipping twice on the way up, and feeling a hand on your ankle you yelped and kicked wildly in the air, until your heel met with something hard and caused the hand to let go. Up the ladder you fumbled your way until you could push the hatch open and slam it shut behind you, covering it haphazardly with the carpet once more. Your legs carried you to Sans who turned the moment he heard your harsh breathing, “Are you okay?!” he instantly asked and you did half a nod and half a shake of your head, “For now. Let’s move!” you took Sans’ arm, failing to notice that he was about to tell you something, but you kept pulling him along. You couldn’t get very far before a thick crowd of people kept you still. All you wanted was to get outside and get some fresh air as the rush of adrenaline had you burning up. 

“What’s going on?” you asked Sans, and the skeleton held your hand, “Adam’s wife suddenly started screaming and collapsed, and some men came in just now to pick them up. They said it was something about her baby, and that it was ‘far too soon’.”

“Shit.” You hissed, knowing that this meant bad news.

When Adam and Evelyn had been taken away, the guests spread out in the mansion again and the party continued. The guests were shaken and talked about what had happened for a few minutes, but those who didn’t know Adam or Evelyn personally, were back to their normal conversational routines, and the rest of the guests followed suit. Sans tried to get you to talk about what you had seen, but you kept insisting that this was probably the worst place to talk about it. “I need to tell it to Alphys as well,” you said. Your hands hadn’t stopped shaking ever since you got out, as in the back of your head you still feared that the man who saw you would came out and grab you again, and judging from the ticking you had head, you were afraid you knew exactly who that man was.

“Then let’s do that. Let’s head back to their place after this is done.”

“Can we go now?” you suggested, as you sure as hell weren’t able to socialize anymore.

Sans nodded, worry evident on his features “Sure. I’ll call the others.” Gently Sans pushed you to the entrance of the mansion where he called his brother and Undyne and asked them to get the rest and meet up here. He left a message for Toriel that you were going home, and when your friends arrived, they all looked puzzled at you. Your hands were stuffed in your pockets as they wouldn’t stay still and you bit your lip, “I uh, discovered something disturbing. I have to tell it to you, Alphys, “ you addressed the short lady and she looked puzzled at you, “but I’d really like to go home now, so we’ll wait in the town for you to return?” you looked at Sans for confirmation and he nodded, “yeah, we’ll be at our place.”

“I’ll come with you then,” Alphys nodded, “I can’t party knowing you’ve said that,” she admitted and you offered an apology that she merely waved away. Matilde agreed and asked, “can I come along? It’s no fun without you here,” and due to that, both Undyne and Papyrus decided to join as well. Mettaton wanted to stay as he was, in fact, working hard to demonstrate his potential as a robot, and when that was decided, you bid the guards outside the doors farewell and left for the car waiting for you. Your personal bodyguards drove you back to the town, a trip that was unnerving to say the least, as you couldn’t speak about it in their presence, and all you wanted was to burst. Papyrus thankfully filled up the silence, along with Matilde who gladly joined in.

As you arrived at Alphys and Undyne’ house, and the bodyguards stayed in the car outside, you slipped off your uncomfortable shoes and jacket and Undyne threw you a large t-shirt and comfy sweatpants to change into, “I got more for the rest of you!” as she knew that look in your eye all too well by now. You were mentally drained and exhausted. Terrified even.

With large cups of coffee and nutella and a pre-made pizza in the oven, you sat down on the couches with Sans at your side, thanking everybody for being here. To be frank, they all looked a lot happier away from the party than at it, but you still felt guilty for ripping them away from it. They all shook their heads, telling you it was nothing, and thus you started explaining exactly what had happened. The moment you mentioned the sound of Doggo’s howl, Papyrus held back a gasp, sitting at the edge of his seat with a worried expression. You told them how you found a hatch in the floor, and that it lead it to a lab, and how it resembled Alphys’s lab, and in that moment, all of them gave a noise or a word that expressed their confusion. You found the photos in your phone, and passed it around for everybody to see. Out of all, Alphys and Undyne were shaken the most, “how did they replicate it?” Alphys asked mostly to herself, and Undyne were fisting her hands, ready to threaten the person who did. This was a part of their private home.

“I’m not sure…” you replied, “if you go on, you can see the other things I found… the caskets and books. I took some photos of the pages and didn’t read a lot, but it explained parts of our history.”

Sans asked for the phone and quickly skimmed through them, “it says volume I and IV, where there any else?” you shook your head, “if there were, I didn’t see them.” He went back to look at the phone, “ _Notes on the physiological and neurological effects of the anima in conjunction with the Homosapien…_ the hell?” Sans murmured to himself before moving on to the photos you took of the actual notes, “…they were experimenting with souls?”  
“is that what it is?” you asked and Sans swallowed, his eyes wide as he replied, “yeah… on humans. And these notes are dated from just two weeks ago. You didn’t take more photos than this?” 

“No… sorry.” 

“This is getting really fucking freaky.” Matilde concluded, and you looked up to see that she had taken a blanket to wrap around herself, finding this whole situation scary as hell. 

“What about Doggo?” Papyrus reminded you, and guilt hit you once more, “I… I don’t know… There was a long hallway of caskets, hundreds of them. I couldn’t see an end to the hallway, and I was about to walk down it because I thought I heard him, but then my necklace began to glow and a man stood by end of the hall and… he saw me.”

Sans’ eyes were practically drilling into the back of your head, “a man saw you?” 

With a nod you replied, “he took a step forward and I ran away, and at one point he grabbed my ankle…” now that you thought about it, your ankle felt quite sore, ”…but I’m pretty sure I heard him tick, like Apatow.”

“That mother FUCKER!” Undyne slammed her fist into the edge of the table, denting the mahogany and causing everybody to flinch, “I’m DONE with that man! If he took Doggo, I’m gonna’ fucking rip him to threads until the only thing that’s left of him are the broken teeth from that stupid grin of his!”

“Nothing is proven yet!” Alphys stammered, but Undyne didn’t seem to care, “l-let’s check out the lab,okay? I want to see if there’s anything down there that’s made them able to see my work…” Alphys got up from the couch, fidgeting with her hands and Undyne followed right after, practically stomping the entire way down to the basement.

You held your mug protectively in your hands despite that it was already empty, looking into the bottom of it and swirling the cold drops around. You had disappointed Papyrus and scared Alphys and uncovered something that left more questions unanswered than to begin with.  
Sans put his fingers on your wrist, gently stroking across the skin, “can I borrow your phone? I want to print your photos out.” You nodded and he got up to borrow Undyne’s laptop.

Matilde got up from her seat to wrap her blanket around the both of you and carefully pulled you in for a side hug while stroking your upper arm, as neither of you knew what to say. Gratefully you leaned your head against her shoulder, and Papyrus sat quietly in front of you, holding his knees and looking at the ground. The silence from Papyrus was worse than anything you could imagine.

Sans came back shortly after he had borrowed Undyne and Alphys’ printer, holding the large papers in his hands and handing back your phone. He was immediately pouring over the pages from the journal, and you were once again reminded about just how incredibly intelligent Sans actually was. “They’re simple reports,” he stated, “this is a new journal, at the very end of the experiments, describing something about a fusion of the capabilities of souls in a single being.”

No one responded but merely listened and let Sans continue reading the other papers from the World History books. There were many names and references he didn’t get, but there was something that made sense to him, at least that much was evident to you with how his eyes cleared up. 

A loud crack could be heard downstairs and Undyne came rushing up, holding a broken device in her hand, “Cameras.” She hissed and threw the broken pieces on the ground, “they’ve been spying on us!” Alphys came up soon after, gasping for air, “there’s more of them! They’re hidden in the crevices and panels of the walls!”

You sat up straight, “what if they’re not just in the lab?” your heart began to pound again, and as if lit by a fire, Undyne, Papyrus and Alphys were off to search through the rest of the house. Papyrus found four, two in the bathroom and two in the kitchen, Undyne found one in the living-room, and Alphys found three in the bedroom. Staring at the pile of metal on the floor, you had a feeling that it wasn’t even close to how many were actually hidden in the house. The devices were but the size of a thumb and tears began to fall down from Alphys’ eyes and unto the floor.

“They’ve spied on us this whole time… our lives… our _private_ lives completely violated!” she hiccoughed, trying hard to fight back the sobs while Undyne bit back her rage to hold Alphys in her arms. To imagine that something as simple as taking a shower, sleeping, cooking or kissing, or something as private as being intimate… it had all been seen by other people.

“This is outrageous.” Undyne’s voice rumbled, the tone of her voice causing a shiver to run down your spine. Never had you heard such anger coming from her. Getting up from your seat you felt your whole world, your whole idea of the people that had helped them to live in this town; crumble before you, “I’m… I’m so sorry Alphys,” your voice cracked, trying to hold back whatever was building up in you, ”I will fix this. I promise I will fix this, I will make it right. I put you here, and I will make it right.” Your hands fisted, but Papyrus shook his head, “you didn’t do this!” 

“I did it indirectly by asking the wrong people for help!” you argued, unable to hold back and rims of tears were forming in your eyes, blurring your sight. You felt a bony hand on your fist but you withdrew your arm to get it out of reach, “I fucked up!” 

“Say that one more time and I’ll punch you in the face!” Undyne shouted, causing Matilde to snap her head in her direction, daring her to do what she just threatened you with, “we didn’t all fight to get here, YOU included, for you to take the blame of some shrivelled up dick faces that don’t know what privacy and respect means! We will ALL fix this! You might be the ambassador, but you’re not alone, and I dare you to take the blame alone, because it is NOT your fault!”

That did it. Tears were now falling swiftly from your eyes and you tried desperately to wipe them away with the back of your hand, causing your arm to be drenched with a mix of snot and salty water. Hiccupping you felt weeks of frustration and confusion welling up and once more, Sans took your arm, gently leading you down to the couch before holding you, while Matilde held your left hand.

Undyne took Alphys’ hand and stomped back to the couches, “this situation sucks, okay? But please listen when I say: Everything worth fighting for; is hard. Life is hard and it’s going to kick you down over and over, but you have to stand up and tell it to sit the fuck down, because you have people who care about you and who stand with you, and we will fix this.”

“Exactly!” Papyrus chimed in, “for all of us and for you, for Doggo… we have to stand together.”

You nodded, your lower lip shaking too much for you to respond but Sans didn’t let you either as he leaned your head on his shoulder, and gladly you covered your drenched face into his shirt. “One step at the time yeah? Just like you told me,” he reminded you. “We’ll find someone tomorrow to contact about this.”

“I-I have to go to an interview tomorrow,” you quickly said and Matilde inquired, “with the prime minister or someone else from the inside?” As you nodded she continued, “ask them then. They can’t run from something like this. I can go with you, if you want me to, and stay nearby.”

“I'd like that,” you nodded, and took in a shaky breath, “thank you all…”

“Don’t thank us. We should be thanking you. I’ll fetch pyjamas’ for everybody to put on and we’ll make it a cosy evening yeah?” Undyne replied, smiling again.

“The Pizza is probably burnt by now,” Alphys chimed in, a soft smile on her lips, “I’ll warm up a new one. Maybe we can forget that they’re watching us just for tonight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun duuuuuuun! Finally I get to the juicy parts haha, also the parts that are, again, difficult to write because I want them to feel right but I'm not sure if they do. This chapter is also way longer than normal. OH WELL, it's out there now! :'D 
> 
> My fanfic tumblr for submissions and more! It’s meant to be fun and engaging for my readers, and to keep an ongoing conversation with you all! It’s also where I update how far I am with Above Ground https://dustyfanfics.tumblr.com 
> 
> Playlist and it's been updated with three more songs! As always, they are woven into the playlist so a mood and tone hopefully goes through the songs https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhJoE3K1a-9Lb_M1IJou8dOLL07gYgqp4


	24. A leap of faith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: hints of nsfw at the very end. Feel free to skip it!

The next morning felt dull and monotone. Despite having managed to find laughter and smiles the evening before, they all fell flat today.  
  
Your bodyguards drove you and Matilde back to your apartment for a short shower and a change of clothes before you were taken to the place of the interview. There was a lunch buffet set up for you, but you didn’t feel hungry at all, in fact you were closer to throwing up than ever. While you were pampered backstage with makeup, Matilde flipped through the online newspapers and reported to you what they said about the ball from yesterday. Most of them wrote positive things, but always ended with ‘but can we trust these beings?’, but there were some who put huge emphasis on Evelyn’s sudden collapse and you and Sans’ dancing. 

The Prime Minister appeared only ten minutes before you had to go on air, far too late for you ask him any questions, and Adam followed suit behind him. He looked sullen and tired, and judging on the bags under his eyes, you guessed that Evelyn weren’t exactly doing well.

You were called in for the interview, and you could barely register the audience clapping or host calling your name as you were focused on merely breathing and walking. You sat down on a seat but the host chuckled and told you to take the one closest to him, as you had chosen Adam’s seat. Already your cheeks were heating up from that small mistake and you tried to smile along. “So. The Ball,” he started out strong and you smiled, keeping your hands folded in your lap to not fiddle too much with them, “judging on the pictures and reports we’ve received this early morning, it went extraordinarily well, didn’t it?” The Prime Minister agreed with a smile, an expert at putting on a façade. He had seemed so worn down when he first entered the room, but now he was all smiles and sunshine again.

“Except for one little thing. Your wife, Adam, collapsed on the floor. Something about her child? Can we ask you... how is she doing?”

Adam swallowed, “She’s stable, thank you, and doing well.”

“Glad to hear it!” The host smiled, “and the child?”  
  
“We’ll… have to wait and see.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. We wish you the best.” The host frowned before turning to you, “to change this into a slightly brighter tone. You are, presumably, the one who picked these monsters up from the mountain yes? How was it down there? We only got a very brief story from the Prime Minister after all.”

“I uh,” you murmured before clearing your throat, “good, yeah good. I was scared at first of course, but I quickly learned that I didn’t have to be.”

“So, they didn’t attack you or anything? We’ve always been told as children, that monsters are dangerous and to be feared!" 

You frowned, “well they did at first but, I-“

“They did attack you? Are they dangerous then?”

“No, I didn’t say-“ you fumbled with your words, already feeling the direction of where this was going, “they were scared of me, as much as I was scared of them! But thanks to Toriel, I learned to accept how they were and to be patient!” you spoke louder, denying to be put down. 

“I see!” he lifted his brows with newfound curiosity, “maybe that explains your dance at the ball then?”

An image of you and Sans dancing together was put up on the screen behind you, and you felt your face heat up as the audience started to whisper among themselves.

“I mean,” the host winked, “that is quite an intimate move there!”

“Yes.” You agreed wholeheartedly. If they wanted to see something scandalous, they were going to get it, but they would get it with honesty from you and not from broken pieces from journalists, “he means a lot to me. He was there with me on my entire journey through the Underground.”

“The underground? Is that what they call it? I see! This is getting interesting!” The audience were gasping from what sounded like a mix of disgust and un-known interest, “so you and they-“

“Him.”

“Him, of course! Are you… close?”

You found yourself smiling, despite your face resembling a boiled lobster, “yes.”

The interview ended shortly after that. There were a few questions directed at the Prime Minister and Adam about the monsters current location and their migration into the city, and one more for you about how you thought this was all going to go down. When all was said and done, the audience clapped and cheered, amazingly only a few boo’s could be heard, and you stepped backstage again. Matilde was there to hug you straight away and you felt like mud that was ready to be washed away by the rain, far too wobbly to stand on your own legs anymore.

Something made you straighten your back though as you saw the Prime Minister and Adam about to leave, and quickly you rushed over to grab Adam’s arm. He turned around, but the Prime Minister kept walking, and Adam offered a short smile, “you did good in there. Sorry that we’re leaving so quickly, there’s lots of work to be done.”

“Thank you- I know, but I have something to say to you, it’ll only take a minute.”

“What is it?” he frowned and you pulled him aside. Matilde stepped a few feet away to let you talk, and you took in a deep breath, trying to keep yourself cool. “I've found video camera’s in Alphys and Undyne’s home. In their bedroom, their livingroom, their lab- even the bathroom! Why haven’t you told me about them? And yesterday at the ball I- nevermind how, came upon a lab in the mansion that looked _exactly_ like Alphys’ lab with weird books and journals everywhere, saying something about the souls. Why? I… I want answers!” You kept your question short and to the point, but your confidence faltered the moment you saw Adam’s expression turn from confusion to anger.

“You were sneaking around the mansion?” He hissed and grabbed your arm, pulling you further away from the makeup artists and backstage workers, “I’ll give you a short explanation and it’s the only you’ll get, do you hear me?” His voice was turning into a low hiss as he leaned down over you, “Those cameras were a pre-caution. Only a few months ago you brought monsters into our world that hadn’t been seen for hundred of years. Did you really think we were just going to blatantly trust them? We wanted to help, but we HAD to have security measures. And that lab… yes, it looks like Alphys’s, because she is _brilliant_. The lab has always existed in the mansion for projects that are supposed to stay hidden until they can be released to the public, whatever you saw down there, whatever you’ve seen or read or god forbid, taken with you or taken photos of; I suggest that you forget all about it and erase it. This is none of your business, and you better trust that we’re going out of our way and doing everything we can to help you and your friends! God damn it, I should be with my sick wife right now, but here I am trying to help you!" 

You pressed your lips to a thin line and tried to stop your eyes from burning, “I-… I’m so sorry Adam.”

Adam released your arm and straightened up; sighing as he ran a hand through his hair, “Forget about it. Just trust us, okay? I’ll see you tomorrow for the ambassador meeting.”

“yes... sorry, again.” You watched Adam leave, feeling like a downright fool. Even when you tried to fix things, you managed to somehow make it worse. Matilde stood by you and squeezed your shoulder, “what a dick,” she hissed and helped you gather your jacket and bag before heading out to the car.

You waited until you were back in your apartment to call Sans, and he reacted much the same way as Matilde. Currently he was with Alphys and Undyne, looking at the photos you took, and had you on speaker. Undyne shouted at you, “he said all of that?” and you winced, putting your phone down to turn it on speaker as well, “ _’It's because Alphys is brilliant that we changed our lab to look like hers!'_ HAH what a fucking lie.” 

You groaned, “he also asked me to remove all the photos in case I had taken any.”

“Not gonna’ happen.” Sans replied bluntly, “delete them from your phone, but we’re keeping the copies here.”

“Even if they can still see what you’re doing from their cameras?” 

“They can’t see what’s not here.” You could practically feel Sans’ smirk and decided not to ask what he meant about that. He spoke again, “how is your arm doing?”  
  
“Fine, fine, he didn’t grab me too hard. It’s more my ankle that’s sore actually. It has a bruise around it.”

“You should’ve mentioned that to him.”  
  
“He would probably have said that it was a necessary guard they kept down there or something…”

Sans groaned, “probably… it doesn’t make sense to me what he says though. Are we supposed to just trust him that the howls you heard, were in no way due to something sinister, and that Doggo is fine? Despite we haven’t heard from him in ages?”

“I don’t know… I know I just don’t dare to ask any more questions. Right now they’re on our side, and I don’t want to change that…” you frowned, “tomorrow there’s a meeting with several ambassadors from Europe, I want to stay on their good side at least for that meeting,” you huffed. 

“We’ll figure something out.” Undyne replied sternly, “go to the meetings and interviews and shit, and call us whenever something suspicious happens, okay?” 

“yeah… yeah okay.”

“And take care of them Matilde, okay!!”

Matilde gave an offended huff, “what did you expect I would do, throw them into a pit of lions?!” 

“Oh and I forgot to say one thing-“ Sans interrupted Undyne’s laughter, sounding nervous all of a sudden, “thank you, uh, for the things you said on TV…” 

You let out a shaky chuckle, “no need to thank me for that.” 

Undyne erupted with an ‘ew’ and quickly said her goodbyes, Sans chimed in and soon enough the call ended and you felt as hopeless as you had done yesterday. Matilde offered to call for food and as she did, you received a message on facebook from no other than John. You had completely forgotten to catch up with him, and out of guilt you opened his message, only to feel your entire stomach turn and your heart sink with dread _; ‘So that’s why u couldn’t see a movie with me? U’re a fucking monster lover or something? Lmao great, I had a crush on a freak. Hope you have fun fucking him.’_

Clenching your phone in your hand you felt for the second time today how tears were burning in your eyes. Matilde finished up the order, only to come out of the kitchen to find you staring with a fire down at your phone. The moment she saw the message, she began shouting and spitting out curses and called up John, telling him to go fuck himself and that he was out of the band, and if he ever dared say something to you again, his face would end up so far in his ass he could kiss his own lips.

You had to give it to Matilde; her way of using words was… colourful. You couldn’t express to her just how grateful you were, but she merely replied, “if he can’t stand being rejected without blaming the person rejecting him, then he’s not worth anyone’s time. Fuck him. Now let’s play Fallout 4.”

The food arrived shortly after, and together you sat up until two in the morning as the meeting was at six pm, and you could easily sleep in for many hours.

Matilde stayed at your apartment for at almost three days, but she had to return to her own place and get back to her school and her job. You thanked her profusely and bought her a fallout figure from the comic book store along with some candy, ignoring the countless of stares and questions coming your way from people on the streets, before she left your place.

The meetings and interviews kept piling up and without Matilde, they were a lot harder to muster. Eventually, you started travelling abroad. Your parents made sure to check in on you, your mom especially as she wanted to know more about Sans. As much as she was reluctant to outright say she was fine with it, she had to admit that it was none of her business and she just wanted you to be happy. She could hear just how stressed you were lately, although you didn’t tell her the whole story and only told that it was the constant meetings that were wearing you down, so she didn’t want to give you too much of a hard time and remained supportive.

Thankfully you still had Asgore and Toriel with you, although there was little time to socialize with them except for on the plane-rides, where the three of you mostly slept. Both were doing just as much work as you, if not more, but for Asgore it felt normal, reliving even, while Toriel looked just as worn out as you. At one point, Toriel found you sobbing in a bathroom as you had momentarily broken down from the pressure, and you confided everything to her in a frantic fit, and just as she had found you in the ruins over half a year ago, she held you in her arms once more and calmed you down. Hearing everything you had seen in the mansion though, and how Adam had responded, lit a fire in her maternal instincts. From then on, Toriel always sat a bit more straight and walked slightly closer to you, and you to be honest, you found great comfort in it. 

After three weeks of this, you had your first two free days from the never-ending work and travelling. You had been to Paris, Luxemburg, Tallinn, Copenhagen, London, Brussels, New York, Vancouver, Moscow and several other large cities you couldn’t remember, and despite having seen so much of the world, it had all been from the inside of office buildings, and now that you were back in your own tiny apartment, it felt just as claustrophobic as the meetings rooms. You tried to take a shower and lie down on your bed to calm your nerves, but all it served to do was for a shower of tears to trill down your face. Sans knew you were returning home today, as you kept him and your parents updated on where you were in the world, and he always made sure to know when you had landed safely from the airplanes (as he found them to be absolutely terrifying tin-can abnormalities). Now he messaged you; _‘Hey there, are you back home again?’_

With shaking hands you grabbed your phone, trying to type, but fuck it that was useless so you went against you instincts and called him. He picked it up straight away and upon hearing your cries, he instantly asked you what was wrong.   
“I’m tired Sans…” you hiccupped, “I’m tired of the press twisting my words and of their nasty reports. I’m tired of my old classmates leaving shitty comments on every social media I have, I’m so tired of having to look strangers in the eye who think they know everything about me, while I know nothing about them! I’m so tired, and I just want a normal fucking day in my fucking life!” you tried to muffle your cries in your hand, while clutching your duvet close.

“Ssssh, ssh, it’s okay- or well, it’s not but shit- can I come over to you? Would that be okay?”

“Yeah-“ you sniffed, your voice sounding shaky, “yes please…”

“Alright. I’ll gather a few things, and then I’ll be over in a minute or two. I’ll see you soon.” You nodded even if he couldn’t see it and he hung up. Just as he had said, he appeared with a small pop in your living room, holding his backpack. Calling your name you let him know you were in your bedroom, and he walked in, dropping his backpack on the floor before putting his hand on your shoulder. In an instant you turned around and sat up to burry your face into his shoulder. Like this, you kept yourself for a long time, simply relishing on the fact that he stood there. He was here, physically in front of you, and his arms were wrapped around you. You could smell his room and Papyrus’ cooking on his clothes and didn’t hold back when you let your tears loose.

Sans rubbed your back, never indicating he wanted to let go, allowing you to hold him for as long as you wanted until you finally released him, murmuring a short ‘thank you’.

“No need to thank me. Want me to make some food?”

“I don’t have anything in the fridge… it’s empty since I’m rarely here.”

“I’ll order something then. Does sushi with a large bucket of ice-cream for dessert sound alright?” He grinned and you offered a tired smile, “sounds perfect.”

“Pillow fort?" 

Your smile grew, and taking it as a yes, you both took off the twin sized mattress of your bed, dragged it into the living-room and pushed away the table to put it in front of the couch. You tilted the table, dragged over your standing lamp and two chairs and found all your blankets and extra drapes to create a tent over the mattress, and when that was done, you put in your duvet and all of your pillows, and lifted up the blanket at the entrance just enough so you could see the TV when laying down inside the fort. Carrying in your laptop, you went on the take-away site and ordered food together, and as your job as an ambassador was well paid, you weren’t worried about spending your money on food and indulging yourself for the first time in weeks.

While you waited for the meal to arrive, you put on a new show you had wanted to watch for ages, Sense8, and halfway into the first episode, the sushi arrived. You cuddled together, shared the duvet, and divided the food out on your plates. Even when you were both full from sushi, you still opened the box of icecream and slowly ate from it, until it was nothing but soggy mush, and Sans drank the rest of it which was, in fact, quite impressive and hilarious to watch.

As you were already in an emotional mood, watching Sense8 maybe wasn’t the best idea, or perhaps a wonderful idea. You couldn’t stop yourself from squealing and cheering for the main-characters, and cursing at the bad guys. You wanted to slap Nomi’s mother and to hold Riley as close as possible, and you wondered shortly if Sans found your outbursts weird, but all he did was smile fondly at you.

“Feeling better?” he asked after the third episode, and you nodded, wiping away a tear from the corner of your eye, “yes, thank you.” You felt Sans’ bony finger wipe the remnants of your tears away before leaning down to leave a subtle kiss on your cheek, “good. I missed you.”  
Your heart leapt, and for the first time in a while, it did so in a fantastically freeing way. Moving your head up you kissed his cheek back, “I missed you too… I wish I could be home more often.” 

“That would be the dream wouldn’t it?” he sighed and leaned his head against yours and rubbed slow circles on your shoulder, his thumb feeling soft through your pyjamas despite being made of bone.

“I miss everybody… how are you all doing?”

“All right I suppose…” Sans frowned, “we’re all trying to get used to the cameras. We’ve found them in every single house. It’s kinda weird showering when you know someone is staring at you.”

“I can imagine. I’m really sorry to hear that.”  
  
“Don’t be, it’s not like you put the cameras there. More monsters have been moved into town though.”

“Oh right, I heard Doggo finally replied back?” you leaned your head back to see Sans better and he nodded, still looking uneasy, “yes but, neither me nor Papyrus or any of the others for that matter, believe for a second that it’s him messaging us. He won’t take phone-calls, and his replies are… out of character, to say the least.”

“Fuck.” You cursed, and Sans pulled you closer, “let’s not talk about that right now. I know it’s important for you, but you’ve got enough on your mind." 

“It’s kinda hard to ignore what’s happening to your friends. What about the pages from the book?”

“I read them. I’ll tell you about it later, all right? Just try to relax for now…” he mumbled and rubbed the back of your neck, causing you to groan lowly and he stopped, “did that hurt?” he frowned, and you shook your head. “No it felt great! I have a really tense neck and back because of all the flying, and you hit a sore spot.”

He gave a weak grin “You want me to do it again?”

“oh yes please.” 

He patted his lap and you moved until you were lying on your stomach on his lap, and pulled a pillow underneath your head so you could still watch the show. Pulling your shirt up ever so slightly, he took the hint and moved his fingers over your bare back and up to your neck, and you let him know when he was doing well through subtle moans, and when he was doing badly by kindly reminding him not to press on the spine or poke too hard but to move his fingers in circles.  
“So it’s your muscles, right?” Sans asked and you hummed a yes, “I’ve tried to read up on human anatomy. You’re rather fascinating.”

You chuckled, “I’d say you’re the most fascinating. You seem impossible to me, and yet you’re still walking and talking and being alive.”

Sans smiled, “You’re so complex though. You’re not just what you see on the outside, like Papyrus and I. You have so much more going on, on the inside, keeping you together and alive. Like your blood. I am still not used to that.” He rubbed along the sides of your torso causing you to squirm, “that tickles!” and with a laugh he retracted his hands and rubbed your shoulders instead, “really? Alright then, that’s a no-go zone.”

With a smile you replied, “Our blood is kinda confusing yeah. It’s strange how there’s a limit to how much we can loose and how it keeps everything in us breathing.”

“And your nervous system. I feel heat and warmth mostly through magic coming from my soul, but yours is build into your bodies. It’s how you feel this as well, right?” he emphasised ‘this’ with a stroke of his hands.

“mhmm,” you replied and turned around on his lap, laying on your back to face him. His right had stayed on your torso and turned with you as you did, now touching your stomach and softly he continued stroking the soft skin. “It feels nice,” you admitted and his cheeks glowed a soft blue. Shamelessly you allowed yourself to reach a hand up to his cheekbone and touch the glow, and he leaned his head slightly into the touch, “how do you blush such a colour like this?” you asked curiously, and Sans smirked, “how does your entire face turn a lovely pink?”

“Blood,” you replied with a chuckle, “You?”  
  
“Magic,” he smiled and removed the distance between the two of you, subtly touching his forehead against yours. He halted, his breath touching your lips for a second before you leaned up and touched them with yours, surprised yet again by how something so rough could feel so soft.

Your fingers trailed down his cheeks, every inch was electrifying and Sans in return, allowed himself to selfishly yet selflessly drag his hand up under your shirt, experiencing a part of your body he had only read about.

Moving his legs underneath you, he pulled them out, trying to get above you, which resulted in you trying to move away to give him space, and then him tripping in the crumbled up duvet and landing over you, causing you both to laugh as you were stuck in an awkward position. His face was glowing bight blue as you settled yourself properly on the mattress again, lying next to each other on your sides. Closer and closer you came, until there was no space between you, and the more curious you grew, the more you learned of the man before you. You hadn’t expected this to happen, but you had no intention of stopping it either. It was clumsy at first, trying to understand a whole new body, and in return teaching him, and it was full of laughter and pauses, interruptions and fast movements, followed by mistakes and then again followed by the most correct touches.

You weren’t sure if the beating in your ears were your own heart, your soul, his soul, or perhaps all three at once. All you knew is that they were ever so slowly, by each beat, coming closer to each other, until they were beating in sync. And like when you were born and you took your first breath as you came into this world, and felt the dread of being alive and the fear of having to discover so many unknowns, you felt the dread of jumping headfirst into being in love, and the wonder of being it with someone as unlikely and likely as Sans. Never had fear of something new and unknown, been so welcome as it was now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day?? This one just practically fell out of my hands, and I feel like it might've been a mistake as it's not super well written, but at the same time I just want it out there so I can continue the story aslkdja 
> 
> handy dandy links:  
> My fanfic tumblr for submissions and more! It’s meant to be fun and engaging for my readers, and to keep an ongoing conversation with you all! It’s also where I update how far I am with Above Ground https://dustyfanfics.tumblr.com 
> 
> Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhJoE3K1a-9Lb_M1IJou8dOLL07gYgqp4


	25. Intruder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: violence

You woke up to the feeling of soft circles being kneaded into your skin, easing you back into the waking world. For the first time in what felt like ages, you had, honest to god, finally had a good nights sleep. No nightmares, no stressful interruptive thoughts and no trouble falling asleep to begin with.

With tiresome effort you managed to force your lids open, and were met with the face of Sans lying next to you. He gave you a kind smile and continued stroking your hip, “morning’” he murmured in a rough voice. Smiling back at him you followed your urge to get closer and wiggled up next to him to rest your head next to his ribcage, “morning’”. You still didn’t understand how he could be made of such a hard material, yet have a softness to it that made it bearable. With a gentle nudge Sans moved your head just enough to pull the duvet up to support your head better. “Did you sleep well?” he asked and you nodded with a groan, “better than I’ve slept in months.”

“Good.” His bony fingers travelled up your back, stroking you softly as he let out a sigh, simply enjoying how quiet and slow this morning felt. You could sense, and hear, by his soul and his mannerisms, that this was just as therapeutic for you as it was for him. 

“I meant to ask, but I was lost in uh- everything else we did yesterday-“ he started out and you chuckled before he continued, “-what are these scars?” he ran his hands over the lines across your back and hips and you gave an uninterested look over your shoulder towards them, “stretch marks.” 

“Stretch what?” Sans repeated. Turning around to lie on your back, facing up towards him, you explained; “It’s like, when you grow too fast, gain weight and other stuff… like getting pregnant… I can’t really come up with other situations right now, but when your skin can’t ‘keep up’ with how your body changes; it tears.”

Sans frowned, “is that painful?”  
Smiling at his worry you shook your head, “It wasn’t for me, I don’t know how it is for others, but mostly it’s not. If it’s because you grow too fast, then the growing part hurts, maybe the scars as well depending on how extreme it is? I’m not sure” you shrugged, “some have billions spread across their body.”

The skeleton nodded and looked down at the ones that peeked over your hip, “they look like the lines you find in trees” he said with newfound interest and studied your skin further, his hands going past the mark Gaster had given you. He was about to open his mouth to ask about it before he turned his eyes elsewhere and commented “what’s this then?” he pointed at a particularly big birthmark.

“A birthmark, or beauty mark, whatever you want to call it,” you replied, finding his curiosity endearing.

“Is that painful?”  
  
“Not at all!” you chuckled, “I don’t notice half of them unless someone points them out. They can get painful though if they start mutating and shit and then they have to get removed immediately. I’ve had one removed at the back of my head.”

Once again Sans frowned, “human bodies seem so full of ‘faults’.”

You supposed he was right and shrugged, “In a way yeah. But I think that’s because nothing is perfect. We all look different. No stretch mark or birthmark is ever the same.”

Sans nodded, a vague smile on his lips, “It’s quite amazing though how some humans go through extreme destructions of their bodies, but they still keep on fighting to live. That’s one advantage you have over monsters. Your will to live and to fight for what you believe in, manifests in your bodies.”

With a smile you nodded at him before stretching your arms over your head, “this conversation is too complicated so early in the morning, it’s only-“ you peeked at the wall clock, “-10 am. Wanna go down to the bakery and get some breakfast?”

“Gladly” Sans chuckled and leaned down to nuzzle his head against yours and kiss your cheek. As you smiled at the touch and returned the peck, he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you in for a hug, sighing as he held you and relishing on the fact that he finally, officially, could hold you as close as he wanted to. It felt indescribable to feel wanted by someone, that you equally wanted back.

The trip to the baker was short but none the less riddled with questions from Sans about your body. He kept asking about its limits; how much could it withstand? How much blood could you loose? how much could you lift? when does your energy level drop? Half of the questions you couldn’t answer, and the other half you murmured a guess rather than a clear fact. To take his mind of your body, as it was getting slightly tedious to answer his in-depth questions, you mentioned to him; “this will probably brighten your mood! Turns out; John is a down right prick and Matilde shouted at him to go fuck himself.” Sans had to fight hard not to smile, “you’re right. That did brighten my morning. What did he do?”

“Said some nasty shit to me. At least he made it easy to hate him.”

“Way ahead of you on that one.”

You laughed and opened the door to the baker for him. Thankfully due to how early it was, only elderly people and two young cashiers were in the store. You picked out a freshly baked bread with whole grains and large pumpkin seeds, two sweet cakes and some orange juice. There was the usual amount of staring, but no questions this time. Most had adjusted to the idea that there were monsters, but that didn’t mean that they had actually seen them, and the people in this store definitely hadn’t. The cashier tried to act as casual as she could, but when you left, you saw her turn to her co-worker to chat about you and Sans.

Rather than talking about the cashier, the both of you had a quiet walk home. It wasn’t until you entered the apartment that Sans spoke with a grin, “hey, is that my hoodie you’re wearing?”

Looking down at yourself you noticed that it was in fact his. It had been thrown right next to your own dark blue hoodie that you had simply picked it up by mistake on the way out, “Whoops?” you gave a sheepish grin and Sans smirked, “looks good on you. Keep it.”

“Oh geez- keep saying stuff like that and I’ll melt,” you joked although it was incredibly close to the truth, and he merely laughed in reply.

 

You left the pillow fort as it was and seated yourself back in the mess of pillows and blankets, watching the rest of sense8 together while eating your breakfast. You were nearing the final episode when you were interrupted by a call from Mettaton, wishing you a good morning, “morning’!” you replied back, “hold up, I’ll put you on speaker.” Sans chimed in the moment you did, “G’morning legsy.”

“Is Sans there? Oouuhh, how very interesting!” Mettaton chuckled, causing you to give a friendly roll with your eyes, “yes yes, very interesting. What’s up?”

“Ah yes. As much as I’d like to chat about you and Sansy being absolutely teeth decayingly sweet together, we have a minor problem. You know about the recent monsters who moved into the city?”

“I don’t know a lot about it, I’ve been out of the loop ever since the overseas meetings started…” you replied, already vary of what Mettaton was about to say. Sans added, “I told her about Doggo and the dodgy messages.”

“Well, deary, there’s more. Papyrus and I have kept tabs on who actually responds to our messages, and live the places they say they live. Ever since you found those cameras, we’ve done what we can to stay out of sight,” he sighed deeply before continuing, “whenever we’ve tried to leave to check up on the monsters in the city, several officers have forced us to stay back, saying it’s part of the protocol. So we asked Napstablook to check.”

“Pap hasn’t told me about this,” Sans snapped, sounding offended.  
  
“What did you find out?” you quickly asked and Mettatton chuckled, “well, Sans, you don’t know everything about your brother,“ he held a pause before speaking again, his voice turning grave “most of the apartments don’t exist, and those that do, are empty. We don’t get responses from over half of the monsters, and the other half are – like Doggo – dodgy.”

“…what?” you hissed, adrenalin beginning to pump through your veins. 

“And to make matters worse, darling. Napstablook and I are next to be moved.”

It was pure luck that you had put your phone down on the mattress moments before or you would have dropped it. You stared into space, feeling furry and fear well up in you as the silence continued. Mettaton swallowed before speaking again, “I don’t admit this often, but deary, we’re scared. If anything to us- if anything happens to my cousin. You better make those bastards pay.” 

“Can’t you refuse to move?” Sans quickly asked, beads of sweat forming on his skull as the gravity of the situation was sinking in, but Mettaton chuckled, “and what good would that do? If we start resisting now, it will give the other humans a reason to openly hate us. No dear, you have to do something. I don’t know how, but you have to.” 

You nodded, even if he couldn’t see it and thankful that he couldn’t see how wide with fear your eyes had grown, “I will. I’ll fix this.”

“Good… We’re ‘moving’ tomorrow. Please hurry, yes? I’ll see you soon darling.” He hung up and left you hanging with shaking hands and with barely any control over your emotions. Closing your eyes you swallowed, forcing down the bile that tried to come up your throat. Sans put a hand on your shoulder, “and just how on earth are you going to fix this?” he asked, disbelief in his voice, “you can’t do this alone- you shouldn’t do it alone.”

“I know what I’ll do.” You got up on your feet and found a brush to fix your hair, some socks and proper pants to slip into.

“And just what is that?!” Sans asked desperately, standing up as next to you.

“I’ll go back to that lab again. I have to look at those caskets. I think- I think they might be keeping them there.” You frowned, pulled on your jacket and walked towards the door. 

“Hold on! hold the fuck up!” Sans grabbed your hand before you could take a step further, “you’re no longer covered by massive amounts of people at a ball, that place is going to be heavily guarded, and just how are you going to get in, let alone, get out? This is not a movie! Why would any of them be in those caskets?!”

“I can always say I have an appointment there, my DNA is already in their system so the doors will open for me. I’ll figure out how to get out when I’m there, and I don’t know if they are, I just have a feeling! Don’t you?” 

“I’m coming with you.”

“No. If I bring a monster with me, it’s going to look suspicious,” you spoke firmly and shoved your hands into your pockets, denying showing how they were shaking like madmen.

“Please… by the stars, please fucking stay or let me go with you.”

If you weren’t looking at the ground, you could have sworn you saw something glistening at the corner of Sans’ eyes. You bit your lip and shook your head, “I can’t second-guess this. If I don’t do this now, I’ll never do it, and I’m so done with being scared. I know… YOU know, heck we ALL know that something is fucked up in that place, no matter how hard we don’t want it to be, and right now I’m the only person who has easy access to that building. Please don’t make this harder Sans…”

Reluctantly his fingers slipped away from your wrist. Taking in a large breath and sighing it out as slow a she could, he ran a hand over his skull. In but a second, he grabbed the edge of your jacket and pulled you close, connecting his lips to yours. Tilting his head to deepen the kiss further, his hands held your jaw and moved past your ears to your hair, gripping tightly at it, earning a groan from your lips. He parted only to murmur a mere inch from your face, “If you’re in trouble… any kind of trouble,” he frowned with his eyes closed, denying to look at you, “just hold around the pendant and say my name. I’ll feel it.”

His cheeks were wet when you touched them. Softly you stroked across them with your thumbs, “I promise.” 

The kiss lingered on your lips all the way out the door, down the stairs, across the yard and to the bus stop. On the way to the Prime Ministers, they were tingling, your mind was dazed and ignoring every passenger who stared at you, and finally in front of his door, there was only a ghostly touch of San’s lips left.

There were two guards standing by the door, joyfully greeting you as you approached. The DNA sample machines had been installed on every door by now, thus it was easy to prick your finger and have the door open before you. No one even questioned it.

Few looked at you, too busy with their own work and walking from one room to another to attend meetings upon meetings, but those who did see you, merely smiled and let you pass. Yet every step you took felt like you were walking the plank.

Walking down the corridor to the stairs, you travelled up to the 1st floor, only to see Adam by the end of the next corridor on the right. He was talking to a random individual and before he could turn his head, you slipped into an elevator and took it to the 2nd floor.

The floor was practically empty, but every door you passed had murmurs coming from them or loud shouts from old men, pitching ideas and discussing federal matters. It felt awfully lonely when you didn’t have someone beside you to walk with. 

You reached the correct hallway and listened with all your might for any noises that told you that danger was coming, but most of the meeting rooms were empty, and the rest contained idle chatter. Rather than waiting to see if anyone would come out, you walked straight ahead towards the hatch, pushed the carpet aside, opened it and slipped in, only to see a door on your left opening moments before you closed it.You dearly hoped they wouldn’t think too much of the carpet that had been moved aside.  
Rushing down the ladder with your heartbeat deafening your hearing, you quickly opened the door to the lab, only to stare straight into the chest of a man.

Officer Apatow towered over you, smiling softly, “Hello there, what might you be doing down here?” he spoke with a tone that dared you to step out of line.

Before you could think twice, you lied, “I was asked to come down here? The Prime Minister told me to.”

Apatow was visibly shocked, but his smile never faltered, “really? I wasn’t informed.”

“He told me just now. I came to have a meeting with him as he said he had something to show me, but he told me that you could show it to me instead.” Curse your fast mouth and lies; this was going to bite you in the butt later.

“Ah. So you want a tour? I can provide that.” His smiled turned almost sinister as he put a hand on your back and lead you into the sterile room, “follow me then! I’ll show you the wonders of our research! I assume you’ve been let in on everything then?”  
  
“Yes. It’s very… fascinating.” You said, in lack of better words and luckily Apatow merely grinned, “indeed!”

He showed you past the tables, telling you how they were made to look exactly like Alphy’s lab down to the very last details, and then continued explaining how great she was and what an incredibly asset she had become to their research without her even knowing. This wasn’t news to you, but what was disturbing was his remark that; _he looked forward to when they’d finally get her_. You said nothing and followed along.   
Apatow never mentioned the books or the journal and only pointed at the devices and their greatness, thus eventually you grew impatient and turned to look at the caskets, only to have his grip on your back become stronger and you sternly remarked, “I’m sorry, but I was told to look at the caskets specifically.”

“Ah. Terribly sorry for holding you back then. Let’s take a look shall we? You’ll be _thrilled_ to see the fruit of our work, I’m sure!”

The way he smiled was enough to make you regret every horrible decision that had lead you to be here. Leading you past the first twelve caskets lined against the back wall, he took you to the small corridor that went down the side, walking past what seemed like an endless line of empty caskets. The further down you went, the more they were filled up with liquids and the light of the lamps dimmed. “Why is it so dark down here?” you asked, hearing your own voice wavering. Apatow grinned, “why it disturbs them. We can’t have that, can we?” 

You knew what ‘them’ was. You were so damn sure you knew exactly who ‘them’ was, and you weren’t sure you wanted to see if you were right. You walked until the light no longer cast shadows and your eyes had to adjust to the darkness. The only thing lighting you up even the slightest, was the contained liquids that had a serene shine to them. You observed every casket head on, taking in their forms, trying to pin down their design in your head as best as you could until you could draw them from memory, but then you saw it – a silhouette in one of the caskets. You wanted to run towards it, but Apatow fastened his grip on your jacket once more and held you back, “No running.”

Approaching the silhouettes, you fought hard to hold back a shout. The first you recognized as Woshua, the second as Temmie and the third as Bratty, and next to her; Catty. They were all stripped off their clothes and armor and kept suspended in space by the liquid, and the further down the line you walked, more and more monsters appeared, many you hadn’t even had a chance to meet. From every limb was a needle forced deep into their skin, slowly draining them from a substance you couldn’t even begin to fathom what was. Your breath was caught in your throath as you finally laid eyes on Doggo, the first monster to disappear, and you so desperately wanted to burst as he had withered away to almost nothing but skin and bone before you.

“Now tell me,” Apatow spoke, paying no mind to the tears forming at the corners of your eyes nor your fisted hands, “what exactly are you doing down here? For the second time no less.” His grip grew tighter and before you could spare it a thought, you let your jacket fall off as you stepped away from him. Apatow looked at the empty jacket in his hand for a moment before he huffed, “upset are we?”

He took another step towards you and as fast as you could possibly muster, you turned on your heel and ran away. The hallway seemed endless, claustrophobic and narrow. You didn’t want to run, you wanted to stay, to save them and to help, but survival had stolen your mind.   
He was faster, far too fast, and when he was within reach and a hand reached for your hair, you screamed and found yourself pushed forward and into the main lab by a boom of volume. It felt like a wave of sound had carried you in there. Shortly you glanced over your shoulder, only to see him already gaining in on you, his steps hard and trampling the ground, shaking the lab by every step, his clock ticking faster the closer he got.

You grabbed the pendant around your neck and screamed Sans’ name, clutching the jewel in your fist and continued to run towards the door. It was locked, and no matter how much you tried to force it open, it barely budged. You called for Sans one more time, panic rising through your body and causing you to feel sick. You could no longer breathe and no longer focus, and was forcibly turned around by a horrible yank to your arm, causing you to let out a scream of terror.

In a flash, a kinder touch enveloped your body and pulled you close, until you were pulled in every direction. The embrace turned harder as they clung to your body to keep it safe, and when the world finally stopped spinning and turning, you opened your eyes to find yourself on the floor of Toriel’s house.

Sans let go of you and lifted your head up, looking frantically from one eye to the other, speaking a few quick soothing words to you before he left and called for Toriel, who was already on her way into the room. That was when the pain hit you. You grabbed your arm with a scream as you felt five deep finger marks were clawed into your skin, drenching you in blood. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting closer to the end of the story! Gosh has it been a journey to get here... thank you all for your continued support and for leaving comments. Whenever I see someone has left a comment, my heart just flutters and flies away to another dimension heh! 
> 
>  
> 
> My fanfic tumblr for submissions and more! Currently I'm trying to find out how to end the story and I'll have open questions on my tumblr on what direction you'd like to see me go, so head over here if you want to have a say in that! https://dustyfanfics.tumblr.com 
> 
> Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhJoE3K1a-9Lb_M1IJou8dOLL07gYgqp4


	26. Inevitable

 I’m scared.

You spoke the words as loud as you could; yet nothing came out. Not even a whisper of your breath.

_I know_ , he replied, a calm hand on your shoulder, _but now is not the time to idle. Wake up. Please._

Your lids were heavy as you tried to force them open. There was constant chatter surrounding you: a monotone heavy voice arguing with one of authority and both were jarring and jabbing at your eardrums. One familiar voice, much closer to your ear, rejoiced that you were awake and spoke calming words, ‘It’s all right, go back to sleep. I got you.’

But you couldn’t sleep when you had just been told to wake up. Turning your head to the voice, you looked up at Sans and realized that you were lying in his lap. Your arm was pounding, sore and stinging, but wrapped nicely in gauge.

“You’ve been through a lot, you should sleep.” Sans repeated with a smile and brushed some hair away from your face, but you saw his quivering lip and frowned. He was just as scared as you. You were about to lift your arm to his face before you realized you were still in pain, and immediately he put his hand on yours to keep it down, “it’s still healing. It was… quite a wound you got… Toriel will come back in a bit to continue healing it.” 

“Where is she?” you asked, your voice hoarse and used, and Sans nodded towards the living room behind the bedroom door, “out there, arguing with one of your ‘bodyguards.’” 

Turning your attention towards the loud noises outside, you heard the end of a conversation. Toriel wasn’t shouting, yet her voice was roaring and thunderous as she replied in short precise sentences, “I am giving you an opportunity to leave quietly.” 

“Madam, we insist-“ one man replied, but Toriel interrupted him before he could even get started, “Insist all you want good man, it does not change my opinion nor my stance in this. Alas, I gave you a choice, and you seem to want it the hard way, and I am not one to deny you that.” There was the familiar sound of a flame being lit and one man promptly replied; “we wish no trouble. We only came to collect them. You can keep them for now, but expect a phone call later. They broke several laws and agreements today, and it will cost you all deeply. Have a nice evening.”

They had barely left her doorstep before Toriel slammed the door in their faces and rushed back towards the bedroom, “I’m so sorry about the wait Sans- oh you’re awake!” her face turned from outright furry, something you hadn’t seen in a long time, to the caring gentle side of Toriel you were most familiar with, “How are you doing? Are you alright?” 

You didn’t know how to reply at first. You could barely recall what had happened, and when you tried to remember, Toriel sat down on the edge of the bed. The memories slowly came back, and with them, the terrifying feeling of being chased and wounded by a madman and you felt your breath get caught in your throat and quicken again. Shaking your head you replied with a hoarse no, and covered your eyes with your good arm, as tears began to stream down your face. 

Toriel and Sans exchanged a look before Toriel gestured for the skeleton to loosen his death grip on you so she could take a closer look at the marks on your arm, “It’s alright sweetie, we got you now,” she reassured you and gently scooped you into her embrace, “I’m going to unwrap the gauge alright? Your arm is almost healed, just like when we first met, remember that?” Toriel smiled calmly as she pulled away the fresh gauge, now stained with blood. “It’s already healing up nicely.”

Sans was fidgeting behind her, trying to get a good look over her shoulder, and with undying patience she turned to him, “can you get the others? I believe it is time we take more drastic actions. Ask them to bring a bag with necessities with them.”

Sans snapped out of his momentary lost state “What? Oh, yes, of course,” and within a blink he was gone.

You didn’t speak or say much, not sure how exactly you were going to express the thoughts going through your head. Most of them were fear. Despite having gone through things that could be deemed much worse back in the Underground, it still didn’t have that same sense of doom as this did. In the underground, you had nothing to loose. You were already lost to the world and trapped inside of a mountain and you weren’t sure any of it had been real until you were outside the barrier, but this was a problem with human beings with faces you could recognize and relate to and with weapons and means that you had been taught to be scared of, and you were.  
  
Toriel’s healing was calm and gentle and she guided you through the whole process, and once she even chuckled, “you know, Sans wouldn’t stop fidgeting over you. You really gave him quite the scare. Me as well.” Even if the situation had been life threatening, she still managed to find something positive about it – the confirmation of love.

“I’m so-…” you started out, biting down on your lip and Toriel quieted down to let you speak, “I didn’t- I didn’t mean, for any of this, for any of it at all to happen. I wanted to fix it so bad, but I made it worse didn’t I?” your sobs grew and Toriel shushed you once more, “Child, you really do worry too much. You’ve done more than enough on your own, it’s time that we work together.”

“You’ve already helped me with being an ambassador!” you protested through hiccups and sniffles, all the while Toriel was helping you up on your feet, “those things I am used to,” Toriel replied, “Come, let’s go to the kitchen and wash your arm. I have a clean shirt you can wear,” she tugged you by the hand and continued, “Sneaking into the prime ministers main office, is completely different from travelling the world and talking to people. It’s exhausting, yes, but mostly physically, not mentally, and from what I can understand from Sans - you’ve held more than just one draining burden on your shoulders these past few months.”  
  
You didn’t say anything; neither did Toriel allow you to as she merely shook her head when you tried to open your mouth. With a gentle touch she washed your arm, dried it off and gave you a warm oversized shirt to change into. To your relief, there was no scar or any trace of a wound as it had been superficial enough to be easily fixed. She took the ripped hoodie, which you realized belonged to Sans, along with the bloodied shirt, and was about to throw it out before you asked to keep the hoodie.

Moments later there was a knock on the door that lead to the backyard, and in came Sans, Undyne, Alphys, Asgore and Papyrus whom was crying while carrying Matilde’s guitar. You stood in the kitchen and clutched the hoodie close, following behind Toriel as she asked them to take a seat. Quickly she asked Papyrus why he was so upset, and he replied with a whisper through his sobs, “Me-Mettaton and Napstablook were taken away… i-it was supposed to be tomorrow, I thought we had time…” Your heart sank. Sometimes the ability to hear every sound in the world wasn’t exactly a gift. Holding the hoodie closer, Sans was by your side with an arm around your shoulders, “how are you holding up?”

You bit your lip, holding back the desire to cry, “I feel like shit.”

“You all look like you’ve been to a funeral, what’s going on?” Undyne was the first to pipe up from the couch and Toriel gently placed Papyrus in a chair before she clicked a switch on the wall and cleared her throat. Upon seeing your confusion, she explained, “it turns off the cameras. Alphys installed it,” she smiled shortly before her expression turned grave, “I apologize for being frank, but I believe we’re running into a state of emergency. I think it is best explained by you, if that is alright sweetie?” Toriel looked towards you and you looked absolutely perplexed, “just explain what happened at the prime minsters. Take your time.”

Your nails dug into the hoodie and you swallowed, “I uh… I got a phone call from Mettaton this morning… he said he was scared to be taken away by the government, so I decided to go to the prime ministers and check out the lab in their basement again…”

Those who had never heard of the lab frowned, but no one interrupted you, while the ones who had, especially Undyne, already seemed furious.

“Everything was going fine until I… Until I opened the door to the lab, and Apatow stood there.” Your hands were shaking and your breath got caught in your throat, “I-I lied and told him the prime minster wanted me to have a tour of the place, but he knew I was lying. He took me to the back and…. Fuck.” You hid your face in your hands, drying away tears, and the only comfort was Sans’ constant kind touch and his thumb rubbing into your skin, “I saw them. I saw Doggo, Catty, Bratty, Woshua… all of them. They were inside glass boxes, wires and tubes sticking out of them and he turned to me and asked me what I was doing there. I ran. I ran like a fucking coward and he slashed my arm with his hand. Sans got me out of there.”

Toriel was by your side and gently took the hand you used to shield your eyes with, and forced you to look at her, “You were brave. You didn’t run out of cowardice.”

“What. The. Fuck.” Undyne hissed, her fists clenched and her teeth grinding together. “Is he still there?”

Toriel turned to her, “you can’t go there alone. We have to do this right.”

In an instance, Undyne stood up and shouted at the top of her lungs; “THE RIGHT THING IS TO KILL HIM. THAT’S THE ONLY FUCKING RIGHT THING RIGHT NOW! THEY HAVE OUR FRIENDS!”

No one wanted to argue against Undyne’s wrath, but Asgore put a hand on her shoulder and forced her to sit down, “I understand your anger Undyne, I really do, but I have to agree with Toriel. These people hold an immense power that we, as monsters, simply don’t. We’re outnumbered. For now.”

“THEY’RE NOT PLAYING FAIR.”

She wasn’t the only one who was pissed. Sans’s grip had changed during your story. At one point his strokes had simply stopped and he was looking straight into the ground, the white of his eyes gone. When you briefly looked to him, the little pinpricks of light were back and he no longer tried to force a smile for you, “Although Undyne’s suggestion is not exactly ideal, it is awfully tempting.”

“No. This stops now.” Toriel stood up and the room went quiet. As you looked to Toriel, you briefly caught a glance of Papyrus behind her. He was no longer sobbing, but instead he was sitting as straight as he could, containing whatever feeling he had inside of him with a face of great importance you had never seen him wear before.

“It wasn’t all that happened.” She continued, “Sans went straight to my place and while we were trying to heal the gash, those blasted bodyguards stood outside of my door, attempting to collect the ‘culprit’ as they explained it. They’re going to either try and do the same thing, or get in contact with us in some other way. We have to get out of this town, in case they come back.”

“That fucking- and where the fuck would we go?!” Undyne shouted. Alphys tensed up next to her, and quickly Undyne murmured a ‘sorry, love’.

“The forest. I’ll explain it on the way, but it is the safest place right now. Grab your bags and we’re off.”

No one questioned her, not when she was speaking with a voice that dared anyone to cross her. You felt useless. Trying to get up from your chair, your realized your legs had turned to jello and your knees slammed into the ground. Sans didn’t give you any time to think before he kneeled before you, urging you to get up on his back. “I’m too heavy for that,” you huffed and he frowned before reaching backwards for your hips and scooped you up, “Nah, you’re good.” He shifted a bit and pulled you up on his back and the faintest blue glow streamed across your body. It was like a river, but so subtle it could barely be seen, “besides, my magic helps.” There was so much to Sans you had yet to discover, “…thank you,” you replied. In a quiet voice

He shrugged nonchalantly and eyed you over his shoulder, “you don’t have to carry that,” he nodded to the hoodie. “I want to,” you meekly replied, and he offered a smile.

Toriel packed a large bag for extra food, medicine and gear for cooking, and Papyrus carried sleeping bags for both you and Sans. All the streetlamps in the city were turned off; it was eerie to say the least.

A few monsters peeked out the windows of their homes as you walked by, but none joined your march nor commented on it. A stench of fear was pulsing rhythmically through their souls, crystal clear to your sensitive ear.

The forest was located at the very outskirts of the city, and Toriel lead you into the dead center of it. As you walked, several of your friends seemed to tense up. Sans’s grip on your legs got tighter, and eventually Undyne spoke up, “What is this shitty feeling?” directly to Toriel.

Toriel, whom was currently holding out two flames to light up their way, only looked ahead as she answered, “I’ll answer in a bit, we’re almost there – and it’s not _shitty_ Undyne, mind your language.”

She took you to a wide opening in the middle of the forest and told everybody to sit in the center. All around you she put up floating bulbs of fire and lit a larger one in the center of the circle. Sans gently placed you on the ground and sat down behind you, allowing you to lean against his chest where he could hold you close. Papyrus, Undyne and Asgore unpacked the sleeping bags and pulled a plastic sheet between two trees to make a ceiling, while Alphys pulled out a small frying pan and prepared to fry some eggs.

“I was taking a walk one day, when I thought I heard a humming noise coming from the forest, so I followed it,” Toriel explained and placed a paw on one of the tree-trunks. You thought you saw the branches move by her touch, but quickly argued that it had to be the wind.

“The humming came from these trees,” she smiled and looked up at one of them, which now you realized, had two bright eyes looking down at you. You couldn’t help the involuntary flinch from your body, and Sans held you tighter. “They’re monsters, some of them at least but most are regular trees. They are very much alive but they’ve been asleep for many centuries and woke up when we exited the underground. It is also the only place in the forest that is not monitored. The government doesn’t dare to go near them.”

“Holy shit.” Undyne hissed, and immediately clasped a hand over her mouth when Toriel eyed her.

“S-so… the book was right,” Alphys commented, “they have to be the same kind of monsters that spoke to that writer, Tolkien… which means… there are several other monsters in hiding spread everywhere on earth.”

You straightened up against Sans, “Is that what the book said?”

“It implied it at least…” Sans explained, his eyes fixated on a tree next to him that was much younger than the others and therefore more curious, “…and, that the trapping of monsters didn’t just happen here, but all over the world. It was a global decision to get rid of us.” Sans nodded to the tree. It nodded back and so he resumed to look at you.

“Shit… do you think the other monsters know that the barrier was broken?” You asked but Alphys bit her lip in response; “I think we can assume that there are several barriers, and the one in our mountain only kept our city locked in. I imagine that every major city has an ‘underground’ beneath it.”

Asgore’s paws fisted together, “If that’s true, then the prime minister has a lot to answer for.”

It was always in moments of conversation your phone would ring. Frantically you grabbed for it and reluctantly Sans let go of you so you could sit up, but he kept a hand on your shoulder. Seeing the name on the screen you felt your heart sink, “It’s him...” you merely replied and took the call, put it on speaker, and placed the phone on the ground.

“Good evening” the prime minister spoke.

“You’re on speaker,” your voice was a hiss, such that even Undyne looked surprised at your instant anger.

“… very well, let me get straight to the point. I believe you and I have a lot of misunderstandings to clear up.”

“If you call a gaping wound in my arm a ‘misunderstanding’, then yes, you’re quite right.”

“What you did today was unforgiveable and Apatow merely reacted as a guard, but I understand why you acted the way you did." 

“Oh, why thank you kindly for clearing that up!” 

“I propose a meeting. Come, _alone_ , to my office, and I will explain everything. I know from Adam that you’ve been to the laboratory before, and judging from our security tapes, you’ve taken a number of photos of our files. I can imagine you have a lot of questions.”

“And what if I refuse? Why would I come alone to a place where I was attacked?" 

“Because if you don’t, we’re declaring you and your friends enemies of the government, and I do believe that you… and your family… is going to have a hard time sustaining a life after that, particularly in prison. Come at midnight; that gives you four hours.” 

He hung up with a harsh click. You didn’t think twice when you grabbed the phone and threw it into the forest with a roar. Everyone was on their feet, but you disregarded them and stomped from one end of the makeshift camp to the other, shouting at the top of your lungs; “He threatened my family!!” You kicked at the ground, grabbed your hair at the roots, gritted your teeth and grunted, “what the hell am I supposed to do!?” Sans looked absolutely lost at you.

A pair of strong arms wrapped around you, and it took you a moment to realize it was Asgore, “what you’ve always done: fight.” He simply replied, but you shook your head and pushed yourself away from him. He let go, only to keep his paw on your shoulder.  
“This is not the Underground! This is not a place where I can fight with the strength of my soul or with the help of my friends or by believing in magic, this is the human world!” You practically screamed it, your face turning red with despair and anger and your eyes began to sting once more. You felt like you had cried enough to fill up an ocean by now, “I can’t physically fight a man like him, like I could fight you! That’s now how it works here! He could take everything away from my family! If I try to _fight_ him, believe me, I will be seen as a criminal and put in jail for life, and my family will fall down the same hole with me! This can’t be fixed with hope and good thoughts!!” 

The camp had gone silent. It wasn’t just the phone-call that had caused you to snap, it was months of worries and fears kept inside of you, that was finally released.

Asgore kept his paw on you, his eyes looking guilty and worn. You frowned and ran a hand through your hair, “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… I want to fix everything, I really do, I’m just… lost on how to do it.”

Asgore shook his head, “Don’t apologize for something out of your control. I need you to understand something important; none of us have the answer on how to fix this, and yes, this is not the Underground, so it can’t be fixed with the means of our people, but…” he held both of your shoulders to make you look up, “…that doesn’t mean, that we can’t fix it. Everything worth doing in life is going to be scary.” 

For the first time that evening, Papyrus spoke, “Yeah! I mean, if we can’t fix our problems with hard work and with our hopes for something better and our friendships, how could we then?”

With the back of your sleeve, you dried your eyes and nose and nodded. You wanted to say something, but Sans grabbed your hand and pulled you away from Asgore, “let’s take a little walk. There’s still three and a half hours left, and you look like you need some space. We won’t go far.” He added to Toriel as she eyed Sans.

You didn’t argue as he pulled you away, and the further you got away from the group, the more at ease you felt. Squeezing Sans’ hand you took in a deep breath and enjoyed the fresh air for a moment.

“They’re right, you know” Sans suddenly spoke and you looked at him, seeing a soft smile on his smile.

“I’m sorry, by the way… I didn’t know how to react back then.” He found a spot between two trees where you could still see the lights from the camp, but keep your privacy, “you’ve helped me so many times when I’ve lost my shit, but I didn’t know how to help you when you panicked- I’m making you feel guilty aren’t I?”

You had apparently been frowning quite obviously and immediately shook your head, “no no, it’s fine, I get it… I didn’t expect to react that violently either.”

“Ah shit- all I wanted to say is that I’m terrible at comforting others, I’m not used to it, but I really want to comfort you as well as I can because… when I saw you with that wound on your arm I made a promise to myself.”

“A promise?” you asked.

“To never see you get hurt ever again. That is why we will succeed, because I will not allow a single bad thing to happen to you.” He never broke eye contact, not even once and you felt your heart swell with a sense of content you hadn’t felt in a long time. You nodded, biting your lip to keep in whatever emotion was trying to escape from you, and Sans leaned up to cup your face in his hands. “I mean it,” he smiled and kissed your nose, then your lips and your cheeks, causing you to giggle.

“Thank you, Sans…” you whispered, “thank you for saving me and for always being there…”

He nuzzled his forehead against yours, and you continued; “… and sorry for ruining your hoodie.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at that, “are you still worrying about that old thing? I’ll buy ten new hoodies if it makes you feel less bad.”  
  
You chuckled softly at him, and like this the two of you remained for a few minutes, before Sans reluctantly broke the silence; “Go to the meeting. I’d rather have that you stay here and we go in and beat them all up, but I know you won’t like that, and it probably wouldn’t turn out too well,” he huffed a dry chuckle, “I’ll be outside of the building and waiting, and just call my name like last time, okay? I’d suggest getting some sleep before we go.” You gave a court nod as he took your hand and led you back to the camp. Alphys came rushing over to you, barely allowing you to slip into your sleeping bag, and showed you a wristwatch, “it’ll monitor you. If anything happens to you, anything at all, it registers it and sends the information about any changes in your body; to me. Your heart rate, your state of consciousness, any signs of stress or pain and so on, will be checked 24/7.”

That gave you a small sense of relief and you put it on, “Thank you, Alphys.” Alphys merely smiled, “it’s the least I can do.”

Toriel offered you a large plate of scrambled eggs, and with only two and a half hours left before the meeting, you fell asleep with Sans lying next to, holding you close. You supposed that if this had been any other situation, like a cosy and more than welcome sleepover at Undyne and Alphys’s place, they would have teased you and Sans endlessly about being together – but now, you were left in peace to enjoy each others company.

Papyrus filled the silence with the play of his guitar, playing a Spanish piece by Gustavo Santaolalla that Matilde once showed him. It brought you to sleep faster than you had anticipated, and for a short moment, only seconds before you fell asleep, you forgot your troubles and the dread of the inevitable meeting. Instead, you felt Papyrus’s hopes and dreams played through the strings of your friend’s guitar.

 

_You’re in quite a pinch._  
  
You opened your eyes to the familiar black void and nodded, “quite…” you replied, and Gaster stepped forth next you. He was covering his face with his hands.

“What’s wrong?” you found yourself asking, and Gaster removed one hand to reveal several large cracks in his mask, and a chunk of porcelain fell down and broke into little pieces on the ground.

You gasped at the sight and he explained; “I’m connected to Sans in more ways then he likes to think. His worries and fears manifests in the void as much as mine, and, as you can see, it’s not pretty." 

“I’m so sorry,” you said but Gaster slowly shook his head, blurring his face like a slowed down motion.

“You’ve apologized enough. Instead, do ask yourself, who should really be apologizing? Who has caused pain in your life? Who has actions to answer for, questions left hanging and with motivations seemingly unmotivated?”

You frowned, knowing of whom he spoke of.

“It’s been a long time since you last called me.” Gaster straightened up, his voice slightly cheerful and you tilted your head, “called you?”  
  
“Have I not already explained this? I only come when you ask for me, even if you might not realize yourself that you asked.”

Looking down at your feet you nodded, “…I suppose I did. I’m scared. I don’t know what to expect of the prime minister, and I’m afraid… I’m afraid I won’t return to my friends or family again.”

Gaster loomed over you and took a step around your frame, enveloping it all at once. It felt much like a hug, but it was also an eerie feeling of what he couldn’t physically give and only mentally plant in your head; an idea of an embrace. “Be on your guard, but also, although you might not yet see it, be aware of the friends you’ve already made inside his circle. You, of all people, have help to find in every crevice of the world.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my GOD this chapter took a long time... I feel like I'm so out of practice, it's been so long since I last uploaded something, and I have to constantly re-read old chapters to remember where I want the story to go 
> 
> Please do let me know if there are any plot holes or loose ends I've forgotten to tie up, my mind has been in shambles lately as I've put all my focus on my bachelor and my upcoming internship.  
> I hope this chapter will be a little bit entertaining! 
> 
> For those interested, this is the music Papyrus is playing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ClD2xKeryA
> 
> My fanfic tumblr for submissions and more! It’s meant to be fun and engaging for my readers, and to keep an ongoing conversation with you all! It’s also where I update how far I am with Above Ground https://dustyfanfics.tumblr.com


	27. A storm is coming

Getting to the prime ministers mansion took less then a second. Sans brought you to the garden right in front of the large building, mumbling with a frown “Tis strange… I can’t get any closer.” 

“What do you mean?” you asked. He let go of your hand to gesture at the building, “I wanted to bring you into the building, but something is keeping me from getting any closer. Something like a wall.” His voice grew quiet as you walked to the entrance of the building, but about ten feet from the door, Sans stopped and stared into space, unable to proceed any further “…clever assholes,” he hissed, “I can’t get physically closer than this.” Knocking at the air, a few sparks of blue glistened between his bony hands and the solid air.

You scowled, “how the hell did they manage to make something like this?”   

“I have no idea, but I’m going to find out. I’ll get Alphys and the barrier will be broken before you know it. Just go in, but drag out the meeting for as long as you can, we might need the time.”

“Right…” You leaned down to leave a quick kiss on Sans’ rough mouth, “good luck.”

“You to,” he smiled vaguely and within a blink, he was gone. 

You didn’t want to enter the building, but you had to. It was out of pure necessity that your legs managed to move you to the entrance. You barely managed to prick your finger on the machine before the door flung open and your former bodyguards took you by the arm to lead you inside. Instinctively you ripped your arm away from them, and with a roll of their eyes they allowed you to walk by yourself.

They you lead you the office by the frontal stairs of the building with the Prime Minister sitting behind his desk, waiting for you to come inside. “Evening,” he gestured for you to sit but you kept standing, refusing to obey his request. The Minister sighed and nodded at one of your bodyguards who dragged you over to the chair and forced you down, while keeping his hands on your shoulders to keep your still.

“It’s merely a precaution,” the Prime Minister stated. You noticed Adam next to him turn his head away.

“I’m not the one carrying weapons, you should be vary of him instead,” you hissed and nodded to Apatow on the Ministers left, carrying two hand guns over his chest and a knife on his thigh.

“I’m not a fool. Weapons are not nearly as dangerous as the chaos you could cause,” the Minister replied with a sigh and leaned over his desk, “I’m not taking any chances with you or your friends anymore.”

“I can see that by the force-field you put up.”

“And as expected, you brought a monster with you didn’t you? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have known about it. See, this is what I’m talking about… we no longer trust each other.”

You spat out your words “it’s hard to trust a man who kidnaps my friends, and then lies about it! Why are you keeping Doggo and the others in containers in your lab?” you instinctively wanted to stand but was abruptly forced to keep still by the rough hands on your shoulders, and the Prime Minister huffed, “To examine them of course. You’ve brought foreign creatures into our world, we needed to know if they were dangerous.” 

“You could’ve questioned them.”

“And they could've lie.”

“You’ve kept them for months. Doggo is withering away.” 

“I can assure you that your friends are safe, they are no use to us dead.” 

“Even if he is not dead, that doesn’t mean he is safe! He was barely alive! HE IS DYING!” You stood up from your chair as your final shout blasted the bodyguard off your back, forcing him against the wall behind you. Fisting your left hand you punched the table as hard as you could, causing it to crack with the impact of your shout, “YOU’RE KILLING MY FRIENDS!” 

The Prime Ministers eyed widened at the display. He looked frightened for only second before his eyes grew wicked. With the snap of his fingers a needle was jabbed into the side of your neck, and a pair of hands kept you from falling as your lost consciousness and went limp on the spot.

 

_Wake up, child_.

 

You felt yourself being lifted you up and carried through a hallway. A murmur of voices spoke angrily to each other, one was protesting and another one was demanding. Everything went black. You felt numb.

 

_You have to wake up._

 

Your body was stiff and forced into an upright position. You just wanted to lie down. Your head lulled heavily from one side to the other, shifting between wanting to rest and wanting to look up. Your wrists were hurting.

 

_WAKE UP._

Your head rolled back one last time and rested on your shoulder. Your eyes blinked, heavy and drowsy as they closed together and reopened. Shapes and forms moved before you, arguing and shouting, causing your ears to ring. You shook your head, feeling clammy and sweaty from a primal panic rising in your body. You wanted to wipe the sweat off your brow, but you couldn’t move your hands and you realized they were tied behind your back. Tugging at the restraints the rope burned your skin and you groaned with newfound panic as adrenalin was rushing through your body. 

“For crying out loud they’re already moving about! I told you to give them a bigger shot!”

“I did Sir.”

A rough hand grabbed your cheeks and forced you to look up. The Prime Minister was staring right at you and squinting his eyes, “you should be sleeping for hours... But at least you’re still too drugged to focus…” he squeezed your face to confirm, causing you to groan. You couldn’t even move your head out of his grip.

“This will have to do,” he huffed and looked back over his shoulder, “Apatow, clear the table for me.”

Apatow gave a court nod, smiled and began clearing away an operation table to your right. 

The Prime Minister let go of your cheeks only to let you rest your head into his palm so he could study your face, “can you hear me?” he asked, sounding almost concerned for a second and you met his eyes in response. Smiling he continued, “your former display was quite interesting. I’ve only seen your abilities on camera, but to actually see a human perform like that, right in front of me? You’ve rewritten history my child.”

You were not his child, not even close. It was gross to be addressed like this by a man you wanted to throw up on.

“We’ve worked so hard to fabricate what you can do, and you’ve just put our research decades ahead. I hope you understand that your abilities are more important to us and to humanity, than so much else, and I’ll have to study you. It will be… exhausting for you to say the least, but your life is a sacrifice I hope you’re willing to make.”

Your heart beat faster and you grunted, trying hard to speak as your entire body was shaking with fear and agony, only wanting to protest and go against him. The Minister stared a little longer at you before his eyes fell to your chest and he took the pendant between his fingers, “this is from the monster you bonded with yes?”

“DON’T TOUCH IT!” Finally your voice boomed and he dropped the pendant as had he been burned by candlelight. He scoffed, seeming rather offended before he turned to Apatow, “Apatow, keep an eye on them while I grab the research papers from my desk.” 

“Yes, Sir.” Apatow smiled as he kept his eyes on the Prime Minister, but the moment the door closed behind his back, his attention was on you. Your vision was finally clearing up, and you could keep your head steady enough to stare him down. “You’re very feisty!” He chirped, “it was fun seeing you this afternoon, but you left so abruptly.” Closing the distance between the two of you, he pulled out the collar of your shirt and helped himself to stare down at your bare skin. Even though you yanked yourself backwards, you still weren’t awake enough to muster the strength to rip yourself free of him. He took no notice of your struggle and looked rather disappointed, “you’ve healed up nicely, hmm?”   
With a tut he let go of your shirt and went back to clearing out the desk, setting aside vials and papers and putting them in their proper order. One object he removed stood out to you by the fantastic neon pink colour, and you screamed, “Mettatton!” Mettaton, whom was in his newest version of Alphys’ tech, was opened up and screwed apart at every joint. His head was standing straight next to his torso, “what did you do to him?!” 

“Hm?” Apatow gave you an uninterested glare, “We studied it. It’s a very interesting robot.”

You growled “ _He_ is more than just a robot!” 

Apatow smiled, “You worry too much. It’s still fully functional. We wouldn’t want to waste good technology!” He brought a hand behind Mettaton’s head and clicked a switch, and straight away the eyes of your friend opened up.

“See? Nothing to worry about!” 

Mettaton panicked, his eyes swirling left and right until they focused on Apatow and immediately your friend grinned, trying to hide the sweat beading down the side of their forehead, “What do you want this time?”

“Mettaton!” you shouted to catch the attention of your friend and he swirled his head towards you, his smile softening “You're here! you came!”

Rather unceremoniously Apatow switched off Mettaton again and chirped, “How nice!”

You had had enough. Once more you struggled, ripping your arms one way after the other, burning your wrists against the sharp rope. The pain didn’t matter, not in this moment, and you only stopped moving when Apatow approached you with a needle in hand, “I apologize for this, but you’re making such a fuss that it will be impossible to examine you, and you have to be ready for the Prime Minister when he returns. Do forgive me!”  
You could push him away, you could shout and force his hand off your shoulder, you could do it! But nothing happened. Nothing at all. Your powers were too unreliable when you were drugged, and as he raised the needle you begged him to stop. It was only moments before the steel hit your skin that a harsh blow landed on the side of Apatows neck and he fell to the ground with a loud crash.

You shrieked at the sight of the mans head twisted into an unnatural position, causing a crack in the neck to reveal a number of wires and electronics. His eyes were wide open and staring up at you without any sign of life.

A voice shushed you, “It’s okay! I’m getting you out of here!”

Adam stood before you, looking exhausted, “he'll put himself back together in a moment so we need to hurry! I’ll get these off of you okay?” with a court nod he went behind the chair to cut loose the ropes with a simple flick, and the moment you were free you rubbed your sore wrists and pushed off the chair, practically tumbling into the operation table. Adam grabbed your waist to help you stabilize but you pushed him away, “don’t touch me!” you shouted and Adam stepped back, “I’m sorry- I know you’re confused, but I’m here to help-“

“How the hell am I supposed to believe that?!” you hissed, standing more straight as the drugs were wearing off.

Adam shook his head, “I’ll have to explain it later when we’re out of here, but trust me when I say that I’m here to help you, okay? Can you walk? Run?”

Staring him down your sense of hearing was slowly coming back full force and you tried to listen for any sign of unreliability, “…I think so,” you offered and Adam looked you up and down before he gave an approving nod, “the drugs are still wearing off, but you should be good in a few minutes when we start moving. Let’s go!”

“Wait!” you yelped as he turned and quickly you reached over for Mettaton on the table, grabbing his head in one arm, and tucking his body underneath the other.

Adam gritted his teeth “You can’t carry him like this, we’ll have to comeback for him later, it’ll be too hard to run!” 

“I’m not leaving without him, especially not if I have to run wtih you!”

Adam looked you in the eye, biting his lip before he groaned, “fine, take him, but let me carry the body.“ Reluctantly you handed it over, “don’t drop him.”

“I won’t. Now let’s move!”

Craddling Mettatton’s head against your chest, you followed Adam through the tiny hall next to all the containers, avoiding to look at them as you knew they would tug too hard at your heart. Betweeen the second to last and third container, he pressed a switch between the glass and the second container pulled itself back and behind the third, revealing a path behind it. It was pitch black and Adam pulled out a small flashlight from his inner pocket, lighting the way ahead. Slipping into the pathway, the container closed itself behind you only a second after you had entered, and you found yourself running right next to Adam to even be able to see where you put your feet.

“Where are we going?” you huffed between shallow breathes as Adam was gaining pace.

“The tunnel leads into the forest. After that I’ll take you to an area that this facility doesn’t get near.”

“Is it the same area with the talking trees?”

He showed genuine surprise and glanced to you, “Yes. You’ve been there?”

“Yes-“ you wheezed, “it’s where we’re currently staying.”

“Good. You’ll be safe there for the time being.”

You weren’t sure why you told him that. He could easily be a traitor and leading you straight into a trap, but something told you to trust him, just this once. Your logic and your heart fought between simply knocking him out and stealing his flashlight, and trusting him to help you.

The tunnel seemed to go on forever and you were loosing your breath. You really were out of shape. “H-hold on, I can’t keep running…” you felt your side beginning to hurt but Adam grabbed your arm while balancing Mettaton’s body in his free arm, and pulled you along, “you can’t stop now, we’re almost at the exit.” 

Forcing yourself ahead, it took another twenty minutes before you could smell fresh air and see a crack of light at the end of the tunnel. A door kept you from the outside, and Adam pulled out a key in the shape of a triangle and pressed it against the middle of the door. It swung open, but you only just stepped into the forest when Adam was surrounded by a blue light and lifted into the air causing you to yelp. 

“I got him. Get behind me.” Sans stood before you but in a way you had never seen him before. One eye was blazing turquoise and yellow while the other was simply pitch black. His teeth were gritting together and his voice was but a low rumble. One hand was lifted up, and with the way Alphys was holding her electronic pad next to him looking practically terrified, you guessed it was his doing.  
  
“Holy shit- no Sans, he’s alright, you can put him down!” 

“He’s _alright_?” Sans hissed and stared at you and you froze.

“Yes! He’s the only reason why I got out of there!”

“And you believe him to be _alright_ simply because of that? It could be a trap.” He didn’t suggest it, but stated it. Adam was clutching Mettaton’s body to him and gasping for air, “Pl-please, I only want to help! I messed up, but I can explain!”

Sans roared “You don’t get to say anything!”

“Sans! He’s holding part of Mettaton!” Alphys piped up and Sans squinted his eyes at Adam, “Drop him then.”

“Sans!!” You caught the skeleton’s attention, “Put him down. Please. At least let us get out of here and away from this place. We need to get back to camp.”

The skeleton seemed to consider this, just enough to drop Adam softly on the ground. He closed the distance between the two and pulled him up by his shirt, “if I see any sign of treachery coming from you, you better start running.” Sans threw him harshly on the ground and Adam barely managed to support himself.

Sans walked ahead and looking between him and Adam you decided to gain in on Sans to walk next to him, meanwhile Alphys took back Mettatton’s body from Adam and helped him to stand. 

Still cradling your friends head, you stared down at Sans who was now stuffing his hands into his pockets and staring into the earth, “…are you okay?”

He huffed, “am I okay? We got a signal that you had suddenly passed out and I couldn’t get through the barrier to find you, and when we follow your GPS to this place, you come out with the guy who betrayed us. No. I am not exactly okay… what happened in there?”

Frowning you replied, “they knocked me out and tied me up,” Sans’ knuckles cracked, “The prime minister said a lot of stuff about my abilities… Adam came in just before I was drugged a second time and got me out of there. I’m not saying I trust him, but I at least want to hear him out.” 

With a nod Sans replied, “I hear ya’… fuck, you keep getting hurt without me being there.” 

Not so subtle you grabbed for his hand in his pocket and slipped your fingers between his fisted hand, “You're here now…” you reassured him, “but… I’ve never seen those abilities from you before. I thought you only teleported?” 

Shaking his head he sighed, “I can do quite a lot of stuff. But I don’t like using them - what happened to your wrists?” He took your hand out of his pocket as he felt the dents and burns against his bones and anger was rising in him again. 

"It's from the ropes they tied me up with. It's okay, it hurts but it's not bad." 

"It's bad enough that it's there." Sans stated and held your hand between both of his, "We'll treat it at the camp. I can't see you hurt like this..." 

You squeezed his hand a little tighter and walked the rest of the way to the camp in silence. The moment you were in sight of your friends, Toriel met you with a warm hug and took Mettaton out of your hands to give him to Alphys. Alphys took both parts of her friend over to her side of the camp and started working away, occasionally wiping away the tears from her eyes and blowing her nose. Sans grabbed some of Toriel's remedies and came back to rub it over your wrists, and instantly the pain faded to a dull sting, eventually to disappear completely. 

Adam wasn’t met with even an ounce of smiles or friendliness and was put in the dead center of the group with Undyne taking it upon herself to guard him.

Papyrus had cooked a meal up while you were gone, Toriel said it had helped him calm his nerves as he waited for you to come back, and as you all sat down, he served a bowl of minced meat and vegetables to all of you. He even gave a plate to Adam.

With some reluctance, Adam sat down and ate his food and to his surprise, it wasn't poisoned or terrible, but honestly delicious and filling. You placed yourself next to Undyne right in front of Adam to speak to him directly as the first to do so since you arrived, “you told me you could explain everything…”

Adam swallowed a spoonful of his food, taking his eyes off Undyne’s spear to nod, “Yes, uhm… where should I begin…”

“Try with, why did you chose to help me?” Sans came up behind you and sat down, holding one hand around your waist.

“Right… yes.” Adam sighed and ran a hand down his face, “Well… you remember Eveline yes? You once joked that our names resembled the biblical characters, Adam and Eve. That is not a coincidence. Her and I, well, we weren’t born into a family of loving parents, but fabricated in a lab. I’m Adam 08 generation 04 and she’s Eve 06 generation 03.”

Toriel and Asgore had taken their place next to him as well and Asgore spoke, “fabricated?” he inquired, “how?”

“We’re part of an experiment to create superior humans. Ever since the humans sealed away the monsters, we lost our magic. The only reason humans even did have magic is because of a connection like the one you two share together,” he gestured to you and Sans, “without monsters, we had no one to connect to, and a generation later, we were mortal, without magic, fragile and at war with each other. A few decades later, the experiment that I am a part of, was set in motion.”

Your eyes went wide. You felt as if you had been fallen straight into an unreal dream once more. As if falling into the underground hadn’t been surreal enough, that this found place in your own land, was ungraspable.

“What then?” Sans demanded, not caring much for his story and his grip around your waist grew stronger.

“We were build with the intention of being able to habour monster magic. A bit was still left in our world after we sealed you away, and it was grinded into powder that the scientist fed to small children, babies, then foetuses, then eggs, semen – anything to make it work. Eventually they found a way to create functional humans. Some died after a few years, unable to sustain themselves or their bodies would simply stop working and collapse. I was part of the first male generation that produced a body capable of keeping magic.”

“…did they not care for all these kids they created and simply let die?” Toriel hissed and Adam shook his head, “not in the least.”  
  
“Can you use magic then?” Sans asked and he shook his head once more, “No. But I can pass it on to the next generation... my children… That is the only reason they let me stay alive. Eve had a small amount of magic, she could make vegetation bloom, while passing on magic like me. That is why they put us together to breed. They thought they had finally created at least two people who could then make the perfect humans they were so desperate for. So many others had already failed, many of my friends that I grew up with – clones like me – are either dead or - if they are brilliant enough - work in labs spread all over the world.”

His voice was starting to shake and he took in a deep breathe before continuing, “Eve… my wife… she went through a miscarriage and... they cut her open to force the child out for studying. Seeing as she was now a defect they… they threw her away. Killed her. I haven’t seen her... not even to say goodbye.”

His heart was pounding faster and his eyes welling up with tears, and you felt your heart tug harshly at you. Leaning over you grabbed his hand before he’d rip apart his pants that his fists were folding around, “…I’m so sorry Adam…" you spoke before daring to whisper, "you loved her... didn't you?”  
  
“I wasn’t supposed to. We were just supposed to breed but… I couldn’t stop myself from loving her,” he gritted his teeth as a tear fell down and he quickly wiped it away with the back of his sleeve, “After that I couldn't stop thinking of all the things you had told me, of all the experiments they were performing on the monsters you had befriended and I couldn’t... I can't let it happen anymore. I won’t let them kill your friends the way they killed my wife.”

Sans’s grip loosened as he recognized the fire in Adam’s eyes and Undyne’s spear vanished in his peripheral vision.

“We gladly welcome you on board. The injustice that has happened to you – we can’t let it happen again. Not to anyone,” Asgore spoke and Adam nodded, “thank you sir,” wiping away the last tear from his eyes.

“Thank you Adam. Really.” You looked him in the eye, and for the first time, you saw him with a genuine smile, albeit a sorrowful one. "One last question... the Prime Minister, all the things he said about me and what he wanted from me, was that the thing he tried to do with you?"  
  
"Yes. Everything that he has worked for, and his father and his father before him... you've accomplished it in a matter of months and in the purest form. He desperately wants you, which, in return, is also the reason why you're the safest of all of us, unless he gets his hands on you." 

"Then he'll never touch them. It is as simple as that." Sans stated, squeezing your side. "If he tries, I'll rip off his limbs one by one." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another long break but finally an update! I've just landed in Toronto and I'm staying here for another two months or so before going back to Denmark, so everything has been a bit busy with moving and settling in and getting used to the town :) 
> 
> I've decided where I want to take the story, which is also going to make it longer than I anticipated, but I hope you're all ready for the ride!
> 
> links: 
> 
> My fanfic tumblr for submissions and more! https://dustyfanfics.tumblr.com 
> 
> The fic Playlist! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhJoE3K1a-9Lb_M1IJou8dOLL07gYgqp4


	28. Update

I’m sorry about the silence and lack of updates, there’s a ton of stuff happening in my life right now, including managing two jobs, my education and a shitty family situation. I’ve wanted to try and continue writing on Above Ground for the longest time, but I haven’t had the time or motivation to do so, and I’ve also forgotten most of what I’ve written, so I took it upon myself to read and rewrite it - which is what I am doing right now. I’m slowly moving my way through the chapters, removing useless long winded descriptions and paragraphs, and adding new scenes and moments and I'll let you know as I update them.   
I’m going to make the reader less oblivious, Sans more present and turn up the mystery and give it more or a thriller vibe and change Gaster’s role quite significantly. I hope these updates will be well recieved and make sense. I will update it only on AO3 so if you like the older version better, the old chapters will stay unchanged on this http://dustyfanfics.tumblr.com/ blog :) 

I hope every one is enjoying December and Above Ground should resume updating in January! I will replace this update post with the new chapter, as soon as I'm done writing it


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